Split Second
by Cassie Valentine
Summary: AU season 5. Everyone makes split second decisions every day. How will a split second decision made by Chris affect Luke and Lorelai's lives and relationship?
1. Chapter 1

OK. Yes, I am still working on Da Capo, but it has been eating my brain for the last, at least 5 months. I need to do something else or I will burn out and never finish it.

Notes about this story: It has been banging around my head for MONTHS. I finally harassed Ky with it so much that she made me write it. So I did and it seems to be turning into something. So, lets see how it goes.

* * *

Lorelai yawned as she trudged back into her house as the sun was beginning to rise over the horizon. She didn't think much of the curtains moving in Babette's window, figuring that the gossip would simply assume she was sneaking in to change and shower after spending the night at Luke. In reality, she had been up in Boston with Christopher.

She wasn't really sure why she had even jumped into her jeep to drive the hours, and miles, up to Boston to help him after his frantic call to her. Maybe it was the hint of panic in his voice at being unable to solve his daughter's woes, or maybe it was the screaming baby that she knew was helpless in Christopher's clueless care. But, whatever it was has driven her to rush home, her large Icee and extra cheesy nacho in her arms, jump in her jeep and start the long, boring drive up to Christopher.

She had only gotten lost once, it had been a long while since she had been to the apartment, but she was soon up the stairs and knocking on the door. It wasn't until she had finally gotten Christopher into the shower and GG sniffling quietly on her hip as they started to clean up the living room that she really stopped and asked herself what the hell she was doing.

She was in a committed relationship with one Luke Danes who made hating Christopher Haden a sport yet, here she was in Christopher Haden's apartment, with that man's daughter on her hip while he showered.

And she hadn't dropped word to Luke that she would be gone for the night.

"I can't thank you enough for this Lor," Christopher said quietly some time later as they sat on the couch among the remains of the Chinese food she had ordered. Lorelai offered Chris a smile before she leaned forward to grab another container of food.

"I'm not doing this again," she warned him. "I don't know if you've ever cracked open an atlas, but Star Hollow and Boston aren't exactly right next door to each other."

"I know," he said, hanging his head against his chest. She was sure she could see that trademark little boy smile on his face. "But I was. . . "

"Desperate," she finished for him. She stared into the mostly empty box of Kung Pow Chicken for a moment before she stabbed her chop sticks into it and tossed it onto the table. She watched as it landed with a dull thud and wobbled a little before it grew still. "I'm not doing this again," she said firmly and she was pleased to see that he sobered up quickly. "I'm in a relationship with Luke and, can I just say, he isn't exactly a fan of yours. Now, I know you have a nanny and she wasn't picking up tonight, but from now on, you have to call the service and find some one else. Call your mother, call her sister, call your next door neighbour but do not call me because I will tell you to suck it up before I hang up on you." The pair stared at each other for a long moment.

"I will not call you again about this," he said, crossing his fingers over his heart before he bent forward and grabbed his beer bottle off of the coffee table. She watched as he took a long pull before she grabbed her own glass of juice off the table and drained it. "What?" he asked with a smile.

"Nothing," she responded. "So, you're kid is asleep, we've gone over the basics."

"The tabby thingies."

"The tabby thingies," she agreed as she stood up off the couch. "I am going to go home and crawl into bed for a few hours before I have to go to work."

"Stay here," he said quickly, putting a hand on her arm to stop her. "I have a guest bedroom, you could stay there and get a few extra hours before you drive back to Stars Hollow." Lorelai studied him critically for a moment before she reluctantly agreed. With a satisfied nod and a smile, Christopher led her to the guest bedroom, pointing out the kitchen and the bathroom, both of which she was already familiar with.

* * *

The first thing Lorelai did when she got into her house was to check her messages. Satisfied that there were none, she then began heading up stairs to the shower, shedding her clothes as she went. She was too tired to give into the anal cleanliness habits Luke was starting to instil in her. She flung herself under the water, scrubbing the long night and the smell of stale Chinese and baby food away before she flung herself back out of the shower, taking a moment to grumble about not having brought up that laundry basket full of towels that Luke had left on her kitchen table a few nights ago.

As she stood in the bathroom, dripping dry as she tried to decide what to do, her eyes fell on one of the few personal items Luke had left in her bathroom, his generic brand tube of toothpaste. She cocked her head to the side as she stared at it for a long moment.

Something in this moment of domestic bliss was off.

Normally, seeing anything of Luke's mingled with her own things brought a smile to her face but all this was doing was giving her a hollow feeling in her stomach.

She was lying to him by omission. She was lying to Luke and it was making her feel sick. This was the first time that lying to anyone, other than Rory, had given her this feeling.

Lorelai's plans had just been re-ordered.

* * *

Lorelai rushed through town, the ends of her hair still drying in the sun and the wind. She had been so eager to get rid of this hollow feeling that she hadn't even used the hair dryer long enough to make sure that all of her hair was dry. She waved a quick hello to Patty as she rushed by the dance studio and cast a quick glance up and down the street before she dashed across to the diner.

Without hesitation, Lorelai stepped into the diner and strode up to the counter. She offered Luke a brilliant smile as she slid onto her stool by the cash register.

"You will never, in a million years guess who called me in a panic last night," she said as she leaned over the counter to kiss him good morning as he set a coffee cup down at her place.

"The Pope?" he asked casually as he poured her a cup of coffee.

"Nice try, but no," she said as she took a sip, buying herself a little time to screw up her courage. "Chris called," she finally blurted out to him, glancing over her shoulders a little to see if anyone else had heard her. She quickly focused her attention on Luke and watched as he stopped what he was doing and slowly looked up at her. "Sherry left him," she continued on with her story. She had to get it all out now or it would never come out. "She just packed up and left for a job in France, leaving him with GG, their daughter." His hand rhythmically tightened and loosened the hold he had on the coffee pot handle.

"I think we need to go upstairs," he said, all but slamming the coffee pot back onto the element. She was more than a little surprised at how calm his tone was. She nodded slowly, her eyes never leaving him as he called out to Caesar that he'd be back in a bit and headed immediately for the stairs that led to his apartment. Lorelai swallowed hard when he didn't wait for her to join him as he held the curtain out of her way.

She gave her head a little shake after a moment, quickly grabbed her mug and headed upstairs after him, determined to tell the whole story to him before he started flipping out. She closed the apartment door behind her and walked slowly into the main room, glancing to her right before she looked to the kitchen and saw him pouring himself a glass of orange juice. She took a sip of coffee as he drained the juice and put the glass in the sink.

"Ok, Chris called?" he asked calmly as he leaned against the sink and crossed her arms over his chest. He levelled his gaze on her slowly and she forced herself to not shrink away.

"Yeah," she said, setting her coffee cup on the kitchen table. She considered sitting down, but changed her mind. "Sherry, his wife? She got a job offer and she just packed up and left the country. She left a note with the nanny and took off." she looked up at Luke. "And then Chris called, in a panic because GG wouldn't stop screaming or climbing out of her crib and he didn't know what to do. So, I went over for a while and got the two of them squared away." She watched as Luke processed this, that muscle in his jaw twitching as he tried to decide what to do about this information.

"You drove all the way to Boston last night?" he asked her after a long moment.

"Well, you saw his attempts at fathering Rory," she said quickly. "At least she had me to clean up his mess. That little girl in his apartment only has him to rely on." Luke still didn't look particularly appeased by this. "He called, in a panic," she said again. "Going on and on about how he didn't know what to do or who to call and GG was screaming in the back ground and things were crashing . . . I couldn't just leave them."

"I don't like you spending time with him," Luke finally said, breaking the heavy silence that had fallen over them as he had considered what she'd told him

"It wasn't really a thrill for me," she assured him as she walked over to him. "Chris hadn't showered in at least 4 days and smelt like it and I have not missed the sound of screaming little girls at all." Lorelai reached out and grabbed Luke's hand after a moment and rubbed her thumb over the back of it.

"Sorry," he muttered as he pulled her close. She let out a sigh of relief as she melted into his arms, glad that everything seemed to have worked its self out, or was at least on it's way there.

"It's okay," she said, still tight against him. "There's something hot about you when you're all jealous and possessive," she smirked as she pulled away from him slightly. Luke couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head when he heard this. "Ok, I've gotta run. I was kinda late before, but now I'm sorta late," she said as she pulled away from him, dropped a kiss on his cheek and quickly took one more sip of coffee before she grabbed her purse again and dashed out of the apartment. Luke sighed as he watched her go before he gave his head one final shake and headed back down to the diner.

"What?" he asked gruffly when he noticed the diner patrons staring at him. As offered everyone a hard stare, the diner quickly jumped back to life.

* * *

Chris laid in bed, flat on his back, eyes wide and blurry as he stared at the ceiling while GG screamed in the living room. He was at his wits end with the baby he barely knew. Sure, Lorelai stopping by the other night had helped, but it just wasn't enough. He could find the tabby thingies on a diaper now, and he knew how to keep her in her crib, but he still could not stop the screaming or keep a nanny for more than few days.

He needed to put an end to this and he needed to put an end to it now.

* * *

"Hello?" Lorelai answered her cell phone, some what distractedly, as she dug through stacks of papers in her office.

"Hey." She heard a rather cheery voice respond. Lorelai nearly dropped the phone when she realised that it was Chris on the other end.

"I thought you weren't going to call any more?" she immediately asked him, trying to keep her tone level.

"I was wondering if you're busy tomorrow?" Chris asked, ignoring her previous question. "I have a business meeting in Hartford tomorrow and my flake of a nanny cancelled on me at the last minute. The agency can't send anyone else, my parents are in Europe and I don't know who else to call," he filled her in.

"No, Chris," Lorelai answered immediately. She had already told him she wouldn't bail him out again and she had promised herself and Luke that she wouldn't bail Chris out again.

"I'm a desperate man Lor," he said pleadingly. "I can't not go to this meeting and I can't reschedule it, I've already tried. I know you said you wouldn't bail me out again, but I don't know what else to do." Lorelai stopped digging through her papers as she thought about this for a moment. She remembered what it was like being a single parent to a young child. Of course she'd had a job where she could bring her toddler to work with her without repercussion.

"Fine," she said after a long pause. "I will watch her for you this one time. One time Chris!" she insisted.

"One time," he confirmed. "Lor, you're a life saver. I don't think you really know," he said, starting to gush her praises.

"Just don't ask me again because next time, I will say no and hang up on you," she assured him and he knew from her tone that she wasn't joking. She stared, dejectedly, at the piles of papers she had been digging through, already mad at herself for her willingness to cave into him. She was starting to really believe what Rory had told her about not being able to break free of Christopher.

"There won't be a next time, I swear," he said seriously. They quickly firmed up the last of the details before they hung up. Lorelai stared at the now closed cell phone, already starting to plan out how she was going to explain this to Luke. So far, all she had was distracting him with some really hot, really dirty sex and then whispering it to him as he drifted off. With a sigh, she left her phone on the desk and slipped out of the office and back to work.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the great reviews guys!

* * *

"So, any complaints?" Lorelai whispered into Luke's ear as he drifted off, naked and satiated. Having been unable to come up with a better plan, Lorelai had fallen back on her original plan of seducing Luke and distracting him with really hot, really dirty sex.

"None at all," he muttered as he rolled over and pulled her close to him.

"Good," she replied quietly, a smile on her face as she snuggled under the covers next to him. She laid awake for a long moment, listening to the wind rustling through the tree leaves. "So, Christopher called me today," she told Luke quietly. He muttered something, but didn't stir. "He needs a sitter for GG for the afternoon and I agreed to do it." Lorelai held her breath as she waited for Luke to respond. When he stayed quiet, she finally rolled over and started to drift off her self.

"Wait," he said suddenly, sitting up in bed. "He's bringing his kid here?"

"Just for the afternoon," she replied quietly. The pair locked eyes for a moment.

"You told me this wasn't going to happen again."

"No, technically I said I wouldn't go up to Boston again," she clarified. Luke sent her a look and she quickly began rationalising her agreement to baby sit GG. Luke listened to her for a moment before he scrubbed his hands over his face and convinced her to stop.

"Don't do this again," he told her simply before he laid back down, but turned away from him. Lorelai sat up in bed for a moment watching Luke before she laid down as well. She stared at the ceiling for another long moment before she finally drifted off as well.

* * *

"Hey kid!" Lorelai said brightly when she saw GG and Chris come up the walk way the next afternoon. The morning had been rather silent for Luke and Lorelai, but eventually he had relented and told her it would be ok, but he would be expecting her to show up at the diner at least twice during the day and again after Chris had picked the baby up so he could reassert his claim her over. She had giggled and kissed him hard, again repeating that she like it when he was all possessive of her.  
"Hey Lor," Chris greeted her. He picked the toddler up and reintroduced her to Lorelai again before she led them all into the house. Chris put the baby down and she slowly began to explore the house as Chris rattled off what he had packed in the bag. "Are you going to be driving? Because I can leave her seat. How about I leave it, just in case?" he asked quickly, pointing over his shoulder with a thumb.

"Sure," Lorelai said as she glanced over her shoulder to check on GG. "Leave the car seat, I can remember how it works," she assured him. Chris nodded and offered her a smile before he promised to leave it on the front porch before he left. She waved to him as he dropped the seat off on the front porch before she turned her attention to the toddler who was starting to dig through her bag, looking for something to do.

* * *

Lorelai's day passed relatively quickly. She was surprised how easily she remembered all the things she used to do with Rory when she was little. She and GG spent the morning at home and after a lunch of left-overs from the fridge and a nap, the pair soon found themselves stopping at the Dragonfly briefly to check in before they headed to the small park behind Miss Patty's to play.

Lorelai was also surprised at the lack of questions regarding the little blonde girl. If Stars Hollow loved anything as much as it's festivals, it was gossip and this, she was sure, was good gossip.

After a few more slides and another questioning look or two, Lorelai finally wrestled GG into her arms so they could head across the street to make the second of Luke's requested drop ins. Lorelai offered Luke a bright smile as she headed to the counter. The fact that he glanced around the diner before turning to the coffee pot wasn't lost on her. She was also pretty sure that she'd heard a drop in volume when she had walked in as well.

"So, how did the day go?" Luke asked as he served Lorelai a cup of coffee. GG and Luke took each other in as Lorelai dug through the baby bag that had been slung over her shoulder.

"Not bad," she said as she handed GG a container of Cheerio's before handing Luke a sippy cup from the bag. He stared at the cup for a moment. "Apple juice?" she asked him. "She's a good kid, quiet, fun . . . it kind of reminded me of when Rory was little," she said as she accepted the now full sippy cup from Luke.

"You think she looks like Rory?" Luke asked as he and GG locked eyes. Lorelai frowned a little as she looked at Luke before she lifted GG and turned her so she could get a good look at her face. She studied the little girl for a moment before settling her on her lap again.

"Maybe the eyes," she said after a moment. "And some of the mannerisms, other than that? No." He studied the baby for a moment longer before he headed off refill some of the coffee cups around the diner. Lorelai frowned a little as she turned to watch him go.

"When's he pickin' her up?" he asked as he returned to the counter. He set the coffee pot back on the element before he cleared a couple of plates that had been left empty on the counter.

"Soon," she said as she watched him head to the cash register to make some change. "We should head home to meet him, pack up her stuff. I promised to have her bathed and in her pyjamas by the time he got here."

"It's 4 in the afternoon," he pointed out as he finally focused his attention on her.

"Hey, when you're almost 2 a bath can last for hours," she said with a shrug. "I also don't know if he's planning on spending the night in Hartford or driving home to Boston." Luke shook his head. Why anyone would want to make a 4 hour drive with a 2 year old, let alone a tired and grumpy one, was beyond him.

"Good luck with that," he said as he moved the Cheerio's container to sweep up the O's that had gotten away from the toddler. GG stared hard at Luke, trying to decide if she should make a fuss about what he was doing. In the end, she decided not to.

"Meet me at home?" Lorelai asked as she finished her coffee before she stood, tossing the bag back over her shoulder and grabbing the container from the counter, snapping the lid closed again.

"I'll be around after close," he assured her. They shared a kiss over the counter before she rested GG on her hip and strode out of the diner.

* * *

Unlike the day, the evening dragged on. GG had to be the only kid in the world that didn't enjoy playing in the tub. Eventually however, Lorelai managed to get her bathed and into a pair of sleepers before the pair camped out in the living room to wait for Chris. As GG flipped through a book, a bottle in her mouth, Lorelai casually flipped through her movie collection until she found one to watch.

As the movie dragged on and GG began to droop, Lorelai began to worry a little. Chris was normally good about calling when he was late, but this time. . . Not so much apparently. Realizing that GG was nearly asleep, Lorelai paused the movie and dashed upstairs to find some spare blankets. She quickly returned and set up a little nest for the toddler, tucking her in securely before she stood up and headed over to the phone, paranoid that she had missed Chris' call.

Lorelai sighed heavily as she checked her answering machine to make sure she hadn't missed any messages. She checked her phone as well to make sure that she hadn't missed and calls or voice mails. She frowned as she checked the time yet again before returning to the couch and pressing play again on the movie she was watching.

"Hey," Luke called out as he walked into the house. Lorelai shushed him as she looked towards the toddler who was sleep amid a nest of blankets on the floor. GG snuffled but didn't really stir. "What?" Luke asked, a quieter tone as he took his coat off and walked over to her.

"Chris is late," she said, nodding to the toddler on the floor. Luke frowned when he saw the blonde baby asleep in the blankets.

"How late?" he asked her as he slipped his coat off, still focusing on the baby.

"A couple of hours now," she said, glancing at the clock. "He's not answering his cell phone or his home phone, no one is at his office any more, I don't really know who else to call." Luke finally dropped his coat over the back of the couch and moved towards the arm chair.

"His parents?" he suggested as he took a seat in the chair across from the couch. He glanced at Lorelai briefly before he began untying his shoes.

"They're in Europe somewhere," she said as she grabbed the phone and hung on to it, hoping to will Christopher into calling. "I called all the contact numbers he left me and it's all going to voice mail or answering machines or it's just not being picked up." The pair stared at each other for a moment before he heaved a sigh. He asked her what her plan was and all Lorelai could do was shrug. "He said he'd phone if he was going to be late. What if something happened to him?" Luke didn't really have an answer for her. The two stared at each other for a long moment as they tried to decide what to do. "Look," she finally said. "Why don't you go to bed, I mean, you must be tired."

"I am," he confirmed as he finally toed off his shoes and sat back in the chair.

"I'll stay down here with her. He's bound to show up by the time the movie's over," she said confidently, glancing at the phone in her hand one more time before turning her attention back to him and offering, what she hoped was a confident smile.

"And if he doesn't?" Luke asked. He trusted Christopher about as far as he could throw him and had absolutely no problems playing devil's advocate.

"Sookie left a play pen here at one point. It's either in the closet or the attic. I guess I'll have to pull it out," she said with a shrug. He sighed and heaved himself out of the chair, telling her that he'd pull it out. "In the bedroom please? I don't want to have to make a mad dash down to the living room at 3 am."

"Ah jeez," he complained, his shoulders sagging slightly. "She's gonna wake up at 3 am?" Lorelai shrugged and said she didn't know if she would or not, but that she didn't want to find out. Luke shook his head as he headed over to the closet, thankfully finding the play pen right away. "See you in a bit," he said as he dragged it upstairs.

"Yeah," she called up after him. She cast one last look out the window, hoping to see a pair of headlights. With a sigh, she turned her attention back to the TV, phone still in her hand.

* * *

As the credits of her movie rolled across the television screen, Lorelai quickly hit the mute button and headed over to the window. She pulled the curtain aside and stared out into the dark for a while. With a dejected sigh, she quickly headed back over to the couch, grabbed the phone and angrily dialled Chris' cell phone once again.

"Damn it, Christopher! Pick up the phone!" she all but yelled when his voice mail picked up again. "Chris, it's. . . some ungodly hour in the morning and, well, you're not here. Where are you? You better be dead or dying or in a coma or something REALLY good because, I swear to God, I will kill you when I get my hands on you," she growled into the phone. She quickly ended the call as his voice mail beeped that it was full and placed the phone back in the base to recharge with a little more force than was necessary. She quickly headed over to where she had tucked GG in and scooped her up before heading upstairs and depositing her in the playpen Luke had managed to set up at the foot of the bed.

After making sure that GG had snuggled herself down again and was asleep, Lorelai quietly crawled in next to Luke.

* * *

Christopher ignored his phone as it vibrated away on his hip. He was busy signing his name and making sure he had all his papers in order.

"And you're sure everything's in order?" he asked his friend who was notarizing the papers as he signed them.

"How many time do I have to tell you that yes, everything is in order," the second man said, trying to keep the exasperated tone out of his voice. Chris sighed heavily as his hand hesitated over the last paper for a moment before he finally placed pen to paper and signed everything. He quickly pulled the stack of papers back in front of himself and slipped through them, making sure he hadn't missed and lines to sign while checking that all the papers were there.

With one last glance, Chris shoved the papers into a legal envelope, sealed it and handed it to his companion.

"Make sure it goes out tonight and will be there in no more than 36 hours."

"Cutting it close."

"Just do it," Chris said as he tossed the pen onto the table, grabbed his coat and hurried out of the room. His companion watched him go before he turned his attention to the envelope in his hand, taking a moment to read the address before tucking it into his own bag and heading out to send it off to it's destination.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

Wow! Great reviews guys! Yes, yes, I know that most of you have seen the writing on the wall, but I trust that you'll keep reading.

* * *

Luke quickly turned off the alarm before it really had a chance to start purring loudly. He squinted at the bright, early morning sun that was starting to come through the gauzy curtains Lorelai had over her bedroom window. After a moment, he rolled over, intending to snuggle up to the warm body of his girl friend for a few moments before coaxing her awake with the promise of coffee.

"You're up already?" he asked her quietly when he saw her sitting up in bed, staring at the playpen at the foot of the bed.

"What?" she asked distractedly, slowly turning her gaze towards Luke. He looked at her long and hard for a moment and took in the strained look on her face and the dark circles under her eyes. He was also more than a little surprised to see that her hair was still in the pony tail she had thrown it into last night. She never woke up with her hair still in her pony tail.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Luke asked quietly as he sat himself up in bed as well. He frowned a little as he watched her scrub her hands over her face.

"Of course," she replied after a moment, offering him a tired smile.

"Every time I rolled over, every time I woke up, you were either up, getting up or just walking back into the bed room. Did you sleep at all?" he asked her again, even though they both knew the real answer. She hesitated and pulled the elastic out of her hair.

"I kept thinking that I heard a car pulling up, or some one walking up the drive way," she explained quietly. "And I didn't want to wake you up because you have to work and you're not really happy that I agreed to look after her, or that I still talk to him. . . " Lorelai trailed off as Luke pulled her into his side and he brushed some of the limp hair away from her face. "He still hasn't phoned," she changed the subject. "He left his kid with me over 12 hours ago and hasn't come to get her or called to say where he is. I'm about a half step away from freaking out," she told Luke as she pushed away from him.

"Maybe he just got in so late that he decided to call in the morning," Luke reasoned. She pulled a little further away from him as she stared at him, more than a little surprised at his response.

"You're defending him?" she asked, shocked that this was happening.

"I'm trying to keep you from freaking out," he explained patiently. She took a deep breath and a look of concentration fell over her face. "I'm gonna go make some coffee, you stay here," he told her, dropping a kiss on the top of her head before he slid out of the bed, running a hand through his hair to straighten it slightly.

"Diapers," she suddenly blurted out as she pulled her knees up to her chest.

"Excuse me?" he asked, stopping in the door way and turning to look at her.

"There are only 2 more in the bag he packed. We're out if he doesn't come by noon. Sooner if there's an incident." Luke blinked at her for a moment as he watched her quickly jump out of bed and head over to where she had left the baby bag. She quickly started to rummage through it, taking stock of what exactly Chris had packed.

"I don't want to know what an incident might in tale," he said quietly, shaking his head a little. "Coffee?"

"Yeah, coffee good," she said as she continued to dig through the bag in front of her. 2 diapers, the half full container of Cheerio's, a few books, fewer toys and 2 changes of clothes was all she found in the bag. She pulled an outfit out of the bag and hung onto it as she walked over to the playpen and looked down at GG. "Where the hell is your father, kid?" she asked quietly as she tried to formulate a plan for the day.

* * *

Luke hadn't said much else on the subject before he left for the diner. Sure, he had quizzed Lorelai on what exactly a year and a half year old could and would eat, but other than that? A whole lotta silence filled the Crap Shack. After Luke left, Lorelai grabbed the contact list Chris had left her and the phone and started phoning the numbers again. She got the same run around she had gotten the night before, Some didn't answer, some were answering machines and some were voice mail. Glancing over at GG who was flipping through an old magazine Lorelai had given her, she couldn't help but sigh and grab the phone again.

"Hey kid!" she said brightly after dialing a very familiar number.

"Hey, I'm running late," Rory said as she balanced her cell phone between her ear and shoulder as she grabbed books and shoved them into her bag as she rushed around her room.

"Um, so, strange question, but, have you heard for your dad recently?" Lorelai asked, trying to sound confident and like nothing was wrong. Lorelai fiddled with the little items that littered the desk next to the phone base.

"No, why?" she asked as she finally pulled on her coat, grabbed her keys and headed towards the door.

"Just wondering," her mother replied. Rory paused as she thought about her mother's tone, something was off, but she couldn't place it. "Never mind," Lorelai said quickly. "I'll call you later tonight, to check in, ok?"

"Sure," Rory said as they quickly hung up. Still thinking about the rather strange conversation she'd just had with her mother, Rory stepped up to the coffee cart to place her order before she rushed off to class.

* * *

"Don't move," Lorelai warned GG as she wrestled the car seat Chris had left into the jeep. She had no intentions of walking to the inn with the toddler on her hip since she knew from experience that the little girl probably wouldn't be able to make the walk to the inn.

GG sat quietly on the front stairs as she watched Lorelai battle the large car seat for a while. Eventually, she wandered back over, still rubbing her elbow where she had smacked it on the door frame. "Come on," Lorelai said as she held out a hand. GG jumped up and grabbed it, allowing Lorelai to lead her to the jeep and strap her into her seat.

* * *

"Who's you're friend?" Sookie asked when she saw Lorelai and GG come into the kitchen at the Dragonfly. GG's eyes grew wide as she took in the flurry of activity in the kitchen. Eventually, she focused her attention on Sookie.

"This is GG," Lorelai said as she headed to the coffee maker. She counted down in her head as she placed a coffee mug on the counter before she grabbed the coffee pot and poured herself a cup.

"EVERYBODY OUT!" Sookie called quickly as she quickly began rushing around the kitchen, shooing the workers out to take a break before she cornered Lorelai. Lorelai leaned casually against the counter as she calmly sipped her coffee as she and the little girl watched as Sookie herded her kitchen staff out before she turned on her heel and hurried over to the pair.

"That's not English Sookie," Lorelai pointed out calmly as Sookie blustered and stuttered as her arms waved around wildly in her attempts to get out a sentence.  
"You're holding Christopher's baby?" she finally got out, still pointing wildly at GG.

"I am," Lorelai confirmed. She watched with mild amusement as Sookie rapidly switched from pointing wildly at Lorelai and the toddler to pulling the bowl of fruit in front of her. Lorelai pushed away from the coffee maker and headed closer to Sookie as she began to pull grapes and strawberries from the bowl as she cut them in half.

"And why do you have Christopher's baby in your arms?" she asked, a sly smile on her face as she eyed the pair again for a moment before she turned back to the fruit. Lorelai relaxed a little when she saw Sookie's attention return to what she was doing. She really didn't feel like having to deal with Sookie getting stitches or possibly having her finger reattached.

"Because I couldn't find a sitter," she replied truthfully. The little smirk she only sort of hid behind the coffee cup was not lost on Sookie. She glared at Lorelai for a moment before she heard her heave a sigh. "He called a couple of days ago, begging for a sitter," Lorelai explained, Sookie already knew about the call after Sherry had left. "And, stupid me, I agreed to do it."

"And Luke didn't mind?" the chef asked as she pushed some of the cut up fruit towards the girls.

"He wasn't pleased, but we worked out a compromise," she said. Another sly little grin came over her face, one that Sookie recognised. "Anyway," she said, starting her story again. "He had a business meeting in Hartford, he was supposed to be back last night and. . . "

"He's not," Sookie concluded as she moved on to cutting up an apple.

"He's not," agreed Lorelai. "I have called every number on the contact list he left me multiple times and every person on that list either hasn't seen him since last night or they aren't answering. I even called Rory this morning, I think she's on to me, and I think I might even call my mother this afternoon," Lorelai said, sounding like the word left a bad taste in her mouth. She made a face before she offered GG a grape half. The toddler looked at it for a moment, but soon turned her attention back to taking in the kitchen.

"Whoa," was all Sookie could say when she heard the last part. If Lorelai was voluntarily getting her parents involved, things were serious. Lorelai shook her head a little as she ate the grape half.

"Yeah, whoa indeed. I can hardly wait to hear the lecture that will accompany that phone call, but I'm running out of options." The pair both paused what they were doing and looked at each other for a long moment.

"And nothing from him?" Sookie asked as she pushed the apple slices off of the cutting board so they mingled with the other things she had cut up. Lorelai quickly sat the toddler on the prep table when she began reaching for the fruit. Lorelai shook her head as she grabbed a piece of strawberry.

"Hey, I need some advice on baby items," she commented, changing the subject to one that was less painful. "She has exactly 1 diaper left and I have a sinking feeling I'm going to have to feed her for at least one more night. Ugh, I'm probably also going to have to do laundry too," she grumbled.

"Ah, let me leave some instructions and we can go right now," Sookie said as she swept the fruit into a container. She handed it to Lorelai and quickly headed out to usher her staff back into the kitchen. Lorelai watched Sookie give orders for a moment before she headed out to the front desk to inform Michel that she and Sookie would be gone for a while. The French Man and the toddler stared at each other for a moment before Michel had enough and stalked to the back office for a moment. As Lorelai enjoyed his displeasure, GG quickly began reaching for the container that Lorelai was holding.

"Ok, ok, relax," she said as she opened one side of the container and handed it to the little girl. She took the container and inspected the contents carefully before she reached in to pick out a piece of apple.

"Ok," the chef called out happily, brushing her hands down the side of her jacket. "Let's go."

"Michel! Cover the desk!" Lorelai called out as the three of them left the inn and headed for town.

* * *

"Can I say how glad I am that it's sunny today?" Lorelai asked with a smile as she set GG on the ground and let her wander a head of them. Sookie smiled as she nudged GG back onto the path. The little girl was too busy picking the strawberries and apples out of the grapes to really pay attention to where she was going.

The walk to town, while taking longer than it usually did, was a nice one. GG seemed to enjoy the walk and listened well to the adults who called out to her every now and then when she got too far a head of them.

"We should do this more often," Sookie commented as they strolled towards town.

"What? Stroll around, policing an almost 2 year old?" Lorelai asked with a smirk. Sookie sent her a look that caused Lorelai to start laughing. "I'm sorry," she said as she sobered up. "Do what more often?"

"Just take a walk, see the world, hang out. Do. . . This!" she said enthusiastically with a large smile as they picked up their pace so they could catch the little girl before they met up with the main road.

"Fine, we will take more time to walk through nature," Lorelai agreed as she took the container from GG and grabbed her hand. She battled Lorelai for a moment before she finally picked GG up. "Cheer up," Lorelai said as she gave her a little tickle. GG giggled and fidgeted and quickly forgot that she wanted to walk as she began pointing to things and naming them as they walked along.

As expected, the trio faced more questions and stares from the people of Stars Hollow as Sookie gave Lorelai a crash course on the on how baby products had changed since the 1980's.  
"How has she been?" Sookie as she and Lorelai stood in front of the shelves of diapers, ignoring Taylor and the others who were trying to be subtle as they spied on the trio.

"Fine," she responded. "From what I can gather, she's has a pretty steady stream of nannies from day one, so being left with a random person doesn't seem to phase her. How much do you think she weighs?" Lorelai asked as she held the toddler out. Sookie took her and held her for a moment.

"Get the 4's," she said as she settled GG on her hip.

"He so owes me for this," she said as she grabbed the package before they headed to the register. The pair shared a smirk as they watched everyone in the store immediately go back to what they had been doing.

"So, tell me again, what happened to Sherry?" Sookie asked.

"Sookie, we've been over this, several time," Lorelai pointed out as they paid at the register and sent Taylor several dirty looks.

"I know, I know," she said as she looked hopefully at Lorelai. With a roll of her eyes, the brunette began to spill out how Sherry had gotten the job offer in France, packed her bags and left a note with the nanny before she left. "And then Chris called you for help?"

"Yeah, but he picked it up fast," Lorelai reasoned as they headed back to the inn.

"What?" Sookie asked as they paused out side of Luke's. Sookie watched as Luke focused on them and she watched a dark look pass over his face for a moment. She could only assume that was from seeing GG.

"Nothing, let's go," Lorelai said as they kept walking. "I have no idea what's going to happen if she's not gone by tonight." Lorelai quickly explained the awkward conversation they'd had about her agreeing to baby sit in the first place. "I understand why he doesn't like Chris, or the fact that we talk, but I dunno. I just couldn't say no to this. You know, Rory told me once that I was always waiting for him, waiting for him to get his act together and I didn't really believe her at first, but now I think I do. Why else would I agree to baby sit the baby that broke us up for good?"

"Well, now that you realise that, I bet you could walk away from him forever now," Sookie offered, trying to be sympathetic while stomping down the urge to exclaim 'Well duh!'. "Hey, I hate to bring this up, but. . . "

"Yeah?"

"What if he doesn't come back?" Lorelai stopped walking suddenly and Sookie carried on for a few more steps before she realized she was alone with the baby. She turned and headed back to stand with Lorelai. "Honey?" she asked when she saw the blank look on Lorelai's face.

"He wouldn't," Lorelai said after a moment, shaking her head a little. "He left me and Rory to raise her, he's been her father for nearly 2 years he wouldn't just up and leave her now," Lorelai insisted. She and Sookie looked at each other for a long moment. 

"Yeah, you're right," Sookie said, waving the thought away as they started to walk towards the Inn again. "I don't know why I said that." Lorelai offered Sookie a grin of agreement, but as they turned off the main road and back onto the small lane that led to the Dragonfly, Lorelai's mind couldn't stop wondering if maybe Chris had dumped his kid on her. She cast a quickly glance at GG again, the grin reappearing on her face as she ran a hand down the back of the toddlers head before she turned the conversation to lighter topics.


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

While Lorelai had been successful in pushing the idea of Chris never coming back out of her head while at work, as she and her charge drove home and Michel was no longer nattering in her ear about irrelevant issues, she found that it was at the forefront of her mind.

"He didn't happen to let you in on his master plan, did he?" Lorelai asked the little girl in the back of the jeep as they came to a stop at a stop sign. GG simply yawned around her pacifier and went back to looking out the window. Thanks to Michel, she hadn't napped as long as she needed to. "That's what I thought," she replied, some what cynically.

Lorelai sat back in the drivers seat and sighed when she reached home and Christopher's Volvo wasn't waiting in the driveway. "All ashore who's going ashore," she muttered as she finally climbed out and into the back to free GG. She eyed the phone as they went into the house, but she managed to ignore it long enough to set the toddler on the floor with a magazine to read and something to drink.

"Rory, I need you to call your dad," Lorelai said. She had dialed Rory's cell phone feverishly and had barely waited for her to answer before she started talking. "Rory?" she asked quickly when she didn't hear anything on the other end.

"Why?" was as all Rory said when her brain finally wrapped itself around who was calling. It took her some time to emerge from her poli-sci text books.

"Because I do, ok? Call him, tell him I need to talk to him, ok? Tell him he has to call me right now, ok?" she asked quickly. She knew that she should relax and try to be a little more calm about this, but the 24 hour mark had passed while she was at work and she wanted answers now. She was not above using her kid to trick Christopher into revealing where he was.

"Mom . . ." Rory started as she pushed her text book away from her and got up to find her address book. She had no plans to deny her mother her request, but she wouldn't mind having an explanation before she called her father.

"Just do it Rory," she said harshly. She didn't really know when Luke was going to get home and she really, really wanted to be able to tell him that things were taken care of. She also needed more than a little piece of mind for herself, but she was happy to tell herself that she was doing this to satisfy her boyfriend, not her own paranoia.

"Ok, I will," Rory said quickly in a soothing tone. The pair hung up and Lorelai stared nervously at the phone. After what seemed like an immeasurable period of time, she began to pace in front of the desk.

"Chris?" she demanded, picking up the phone as soon as it started to ring. She closed her eyes in frustration when she heard Rory on the other end.

"He's not answering," Rory said. "What's going on?" She asked, a serious tone in her voice.

"Nothing," Lorelai said quickly as she ran a hand over her face. She hoped her tone was light enough to make Rory forget the panicky voice that had answered the phone.

"What's going on?" Rory asked again, carefully enunciating each word so her mother would know she meant business. Rory jaw slowly dropped open as her mother related the tale of how she came to be watching Rory's half sister and, after a moment of hesitation, she spilled out the fact that she hadn't heard from Chris in 24 hours. "And she's there now?" Lorelai turned around, slightly put out to see that GG had abandoned the magazine in favour of pulling CD's from the rack.

"In the living room, re-arranging my CD collection," she said calmly. The pair fell into silence for a while before Rory assured her mother that she'd keep trying to get a hold of her father and the pair, eventually, reluctantly hung up "So kid, what now?" she asked GG. The little girl looked up from the CD shelf in front of her.

"Daddy?" she asked softly. Lorelai looked at her and couldn't help but sigh softly.

"Soon," Lorelai lied, offering the little girl a soft smile. "He'll be here soon." GG offered a sigh of her own as she looked down at the CD in her hand. She dropped it after a moment and headed over to Lorelai, arms raised, looking to be picked up. Lorelai obliged "How about a snack?" Lorelai asked after a moment. GG didn't reply, she simply laid her head on Lorelai's shoulder so, Lorelai simply headed to the kitchen, hoping to bribe the toddler back to happiness with some Pop Tart.

* * *

"Hey you didn't come into the diner tonight and I was worried so I. . . " Luke stopped talking when he saw Lorelai and the little blonde girl sitting on the living room floor reading. "She's still here," he finished, dropping the bags of food onto the couch.

"I'm working on it," she said, not looking up from the book as she pointed things out to the toddler. GG stopped paying attention to the picture and looked up at Luke.

"By doing what?" he asked as he came to stand in front of the pair. GG followed him through the living room and held his gaze for a moment before she finally turned her attention back to the book in front of her.

"Calling compulsively. I got Rory to call too. My parents haven't heard anything, and let me tell you that that was a fun phone call to have. In fact, I think it might have been right up there with telling them I was pregnant with Rory." Lorelai finally looked up when Luke didn't respond. She swallowed hard when she saw that muscle in his jaw twitch. "What are you. . . " she trailed off as Luke reached down and picked up GG, rather awkwardly, before he headed upstairs with her. Lorelai sat on the floor for a moment, not exactly sure what was going on. Just as she finally pulled herself up off the floor, Luke came down without the baby. He grabbed the bags of food from the couch and gestured for her to follow him to the kitchen.

"Have you heard anything from him?" he asked as he put the bags on the kitchen table before he headed to the cupboard to find plates.

"No," she said as she began opening the bags and pulling the take out containers out. He glanced over his shoulder at her and wasn't all that surprised to see that she was solely focused on removing the Styrofoam containers from the paper bags. He quickly turned back to what he was doing, especially since he had to grab things for 3 instead of 2.

"Anything from the nanny service? Anything from any of the other numbers he gave you?" he asked as he brought things over to the table before he started to open the containers she had put on the table.

"The nanny service said they've been paid for the foreseeable future, but that they wouldn't send any one out to Stars Hollow and the maid at his parents house said that they are indeed in Europe and no, they wouldn't give me the number but they would take a message. I'll be surprised if they get it before they come home," she told him as she headed to the fridge while he got silver ware out. "Other than that, I'm still getting answering machines, voice mails or no pick up from every one else." Luke closed his mouth quickly before his next thought could slip out. When Lorelai didn't say anything more, he finally said what was on his mind.

"What if he's not coming back?" Luke asked. He watched as Lorelai hesitated, head still in the fridge.

"He's coming back," she answered as she finally emerged from the fridge, a beer in each hand. "He left me and Rory to marry her mother and raiser her, he's coming back," she told him confidently as she went back in for the pitcher of juice Luke had made that morning.

"He married her mother because she was pregnant and then made sure to be working or travelling most of the time after she was born," Luke corrected. "He's not coming back," he said again and he watched Lorelai clutched the juice jug a little tighter. "He dumped his kid on you and took off. Again," he added, not really even bothering to keep the anger and frustration out of his voice. "I told you not to do this for him, I told you."

"So what do you want? A medal?" she asked angrily, slamming the plastic jug on the table. Neither of them really cared when the juice splashed over the top and made a puddle on the table top. "Congratulations Luke, you won. He's a jerk, again, and I should have seen it coming, again!" she hollered at him as she turned and slammed the fridge door shut. Again, they ignored the things on the top of the fridge that rattled with the force she had put behind the door. The pair stared at each other for a moment, each breathing heavily as they considered their next move.

"We need to do something about this," he told her after a long moment. He quickly looked away from her and started looking for the roll of paper towel so he could clean up the spilt juice.

"Like what?" she asked him, still angry that he had made her face what she knew was true since Sookie had brought it up that afternoon. "Cover her in stamps and mail her to her grandparents in Europe?"

"Call the police," he said calmly with a shrug as he mopped up the juice. "This has gotta be abandonment or something."

"What if he comes back?" she asked after a minute. "What if he decides that this was a mistake and comes back in a few days? I'm not gonna lie, I did this to Rory once, when she was really little. I put her down for a nap, packed a bag and left. Of course, I only sat in the coffee shop long enough to drink a cup of coffee before I started freaking out and headed home, but still, I did it." This declaration threw Luke for a moment and he had to pause and think about things. He tossed the soggy paper towel into the garbage before he started to plate the food.

"One more day," he said with a sigh as he pushed one heaping plate towards Lorelai before he began on the smaller one he had grabbed. "He gets tonight and tomorrow to come back. If he isn't back here by 6 tomorrow, we're calling the cops, ok?"

"6 tomorrow," Lorelai said with a defeated sigh of her own. She and Luke locked eyes for a moment. He dropped the spoonful of mashed potatoes back into the container before he pulled her close. He held her for a moment before she finally snaked her arms around his waist and hung on.

"You should go get her, I put together something for her, just in case," he muttered as he dropped a kiss on the top of her head. Lorelai sighed a little before she pulled back and offered a ghost of a smile. He returned it after a moment and she kissed him before she slipped away and headed silently up the stairs to find their charge.

* * *

The rain had started to fall at some point after they had fallen into bed. While the storm had started out as nothing more than a late fall shower, it had soon turned into a raging thunder storm, with the first loud clap startling both Lorelai and GG awake. The pair locked eyes as Lorelai brushed the hair out of her face and GG peered over the edge of the play pen with anxious eyes.

"Hold on," she whispered as she cast a glance at Luke, not surprised to see that he was still dead to the world, before she slid quietly out of bed. "Come on," she said as she picked the little girl up and wrapped her in a blanket before slowly wandering down the stairs to the living room. She held GG a little tighter when she felt the little girl jump again when another clash of thunder sounded.

"Rory wasn't a big fan of thunder either," she told the toddler as she headed to the front door. She cracked it open to get a better look at what was going on. "If we hadn't shared a bed, she would have crawled in with me every time there was a really big storm. I finally managed to convince her to sleep through them when she was about 6. It was ridiculously warm and I had found some huge golf umbrella that had been left behind by a guest and we had sat outside, under that giant white and green umbrella, just watching the lightening in the sky." Lorelai closed the door as she started to feel the toddler relaxing towards sleep again. "Yeah, I think crawling into bed again would be a good idea too," she muttered as she and GG shared a yawn. Lorelai checked to make sure that the windows in the living room were firmly closed before she slowly wandered back upstairs, dropped the toddler back into the playpen and crawled back into bed herself.

* * *

The rain was still falling heavily in the morning, but the weather was quickly turning cold. Lorelai and Luke both took a moment to stare out at the back yard through the kitchen window as they waited for the eggs to finish cooking.

"If it gets any colder, it's gonna start to freeze," Luke commented as he turned his attention back to the eggs, adding some cheese as he pushed them around the pan with his spatula.

"Ugh," was all Lorelai could say as she pushed away from the counter and headed to the living room to find the phone. Luke listened as she called Sookie to see what kind of cold weather gear Sookie had that was still too big for Davey. He tuned Lorelai out after a moment as he turned his attention to the French toast that needed to be flipped. He looked down when he felt something bush against his leg.

"What?" he asked gruffly when he looked down and saw GG looking up at him. The two of them had been keeping their distance from each other, but GG had had enough of that. She was going to figure Luke out if it was the last thing she did. She stared up at him for a long moment before she finally raised her arms up, fingers spread wide; the universal sign for wanting to be picked up. "I'm cooking," he told her as he turned his attention back to the stove. GG, however, would not be denied and started to whine a little as she began to bounce, her arms still held up towards him.

Luke glanced down at the toddler again before he looked towards the living room for Lorelai. When he didn't see her, he reluctantly put down his spatula and turned to face the little girl again. He bent down slowly and picked her up, settling her on his hip like he had seen Lorelai do so many times. He was more than a little surprised at how quickly she settled into his arms, still leaving one free to manipulate the spatula.

Meanwhile, Lorelai hung up the phone, satisfied that she had at least secured GG a heavy wool sweater that Sookie would bring to the inn with her, before she wandered back to the kitchen, dropping the phone back into it's base as she passed it. She hesitated in the door way to the kitchen and took a moment to observe Luke and GG. A smile slowly spread across her face as she watched the pair at the stove and she hesitated when she thought about slipping into the kitchen, worried that she'd ruin the moment.

GG, however, having grown bored with watching the French toast being flipped, glanced behind Luke. Her eyes fell on Lorelai and she smiled before she waved happily. Luke turned when he felt the toddler shift and saw Lorelai in the doorway.

"I think this is yours," he said gruffly.

"But you're doing so well," she told him with a smile as she finally came into the kitchen. Luke offered her a glare before she finally took the little girl from him. When Lorelai had turned and headed to the fridge, Luke couldn't help but roll his eyes and shake his head a small smile turned up the corners of his mouth. Eventually, he turned his gaze from his girl friend back to the stove and finished breakfast.  
"So," he asked her as he began to serve breakfast.

"So?" Lorelai asked, looking at him expectantly. She settled GG on her lap and Luke allowed his mind to wonder about how long it had taken her to learn to eat and keep a toddler on her lap at the same time.

"You're taking her to work with you again?" he asked as he slid some eggs onto a separate plate for GG. Lorelai couldn't hide the small grin that formed when she saw him set things aside to cool for a bit before he served the toddler.

"I don't really have a choice, unless you'd like to take her today." Lorelai's grin grew as she watched Luke fumble the frying pan and nearly drop it. He relaxed a little when he realised that she was teasing him.

"You could find a sitter," he suggested as he went back to serving breakfast. Lorelai heaved a sigh and asked him where exactly she was going to find said sitter. And when she did find said sitter, what were the chances that they wouldn't question how she came to be in possession of her ex-boyfriends kid. Luke couldn't really do anything other than shrug as he dropped the plates onto the table and headed to the fridge for ketchup and milk.

"It's no big deal," Lorelai replied as she offered GG a fork. "Things are starting to die down around the inn, the leafers are starting to head home and it'll be a couple of weeks before the Thanksgiving rush is on. Besides, with this rain, people will be staying in their rooms or milling around the living room, looking for a good book and some of Sookie's cookies or a DVD to watch in their room."

"If you say so," Luke replied. He wasn't one to really pay attention to the habits of tourists in Stars Hollow. He only really realised that there were even tourists in town when he looked over his receipts at the end of the night. Lorelai paused to watch Luke for a moment. He may have told her that he was okay with her watching GG, but she was growing more and more sure that he was just lying to her. "What?" he asked when he realised she was staring at him.

"You're not really okay with this," she said, putting down her fork. Luke's hand hesitated half way between the plate and his mouth as he levelled his gaze at her. "It's okay if you're not," she told him quickly.

"I'm concerned," he clarified as he went back to eating. She waited for him to elaborate.

"About?" she finally prompted.

"What do you mean about?" he asked her, finally putting his fork down. "He left his kid with you and, let's be honest, I don't think he's coming back. So, now we're stuck with his kid and have to clean up the mess he made. So yeah, I'm concerned," he concluded as he pushed away from the table. "I don't want you to apologise again," he told her when he heard her start to do just that. The pair grew silent as he finished pouring a cup of coffee that he soon place in front of her. "I just don't understand why you're not more concerned about this."

"I am concerned," she told him firmly. "In fact, I am freakin' out the freaks on the inside but I'm keeping it on the inside because if I don't, she," she gestured towards GG who still mostly oblivious to the conversation. "Will pick up on things and then, oh the fun we will have." The pair stared each other down for a moment.

"Fine," Luke said abruptly, grabbing a slice of French toast before he pushed away from the table. "I'll see you later," he told her as he left the house. Lorelai sighed heavily as she watched him go before resting an elbow on the table and running the hand over her face. She eventually looked down at GG when she felt the toddler shift in her lap.

"Go?" she asked, pointing towards the door as she looked up expectantly at Lorelai.

"Yeah," she said, sounding deflated. "He went." GG frowned a little when she saw the expression on Lorelai's face darken. She lowered her finger slowly and hesitantly turned her attention back to the food in front of her. Something was up. She wasn't quite sure what, but she knew that something was wrong.

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

Sookie knew something was up as soon as Lorelai and GG showed up at the inn. While she had accepted the offered cup of coffee and the sweater Sookie had brought in, Lorelai's wasn't her usual bubbly self.

"Do you want to. . " Sookie started to ask as she held out the sweater she had brought with her.

"No," Lorelai cut her off as she handed GG the sweater to hold while she added some cream to her coffee.

"Are you . . ." Sookie tried again.

"Yes," Lorelai cut her off again as she returned the cream to the fridge. "Remember those little cots we talked about ordering, did we ever do that?" she asked.

"I think so. I'd ask Michel," Sookie said immediately, still keeping a critical eye on her friend.

"Great," Lorelai replied as she turned and left the kitchen. She headed to the front desk and finally wrestled an answer out of Michel. Yes, they had ordered them, no he wasn't going to set one up for her. Lorelai offered a tight smile as she bit her tongue to keep from snapping at the concierge. It wasn't his fault that she was in a bad mod this morning. She eventually recruited one of bellhops to help her drag it into the back office and get it set up.

"There is a man here who is very insistent that you come out of your office," Michel deadpanned a few hours later. Lorelai looked up from the mound of paper work she was going through.

"Why?" she asked him, not putting down her pen yet.

"How should I know?" Michel asked as he cast a distasteful glance down at GG who stared back up at him. She offered him the book she was flipping through for a moment before she dropped it back to her lap and started to flip through it again.

"Isn't that what I pay you for?" she asked calmly.

"You don't pay me near enough for that," Michel responded automatically. "Are you coming or not?" he asked again. With a sigh and a grumble, Lorelai tossed her pen down and pushed away from her desk.

"I'll be right back," she assured the baby who looked up at her questioningly as she walked by. She squared her shoulders and got her best 'customer smile' ready.

"Lorelai Gilmore?" the guy at the desk asked, glancing up slightly from the clip board he held.

"Yes," she assured him as she came to the desk.

"Sign here," he said bluntly, dropping the clip board on the front desk. She arched an eye brow as she dug around for a pen for a moment before Michel handed her one. She read over the slip for a moment, hoping for a clue as to what it was, but when she couldn't find one, she quickly signed her name to it.

"There's no return address," she said quickly when the guy handed her the envelope he was carrying. The delivery guy just shrugged before he checked something off on his list, tossed the clip board back into his bag and put his bike helmet back on. She watched the guy leave and heard Michel make a comment about how tacky it was to wear bike shorts that stick out from underneath other shorts as she continued to stare at the envelope. As Michel turned to her for support on his fashion opinions, or at least a quick barb, he was more than a little disappointed to realised that Lorelai had already turned on her heel and headed back to the office.

"Out, out!" GG greeted her as soon as she set foot back in the office. She closed the door quietly behind her before tossing the envelope onto her desk. She quickly scooped the toddler up and set her loose in the office for a bit, confident that there was nothing she could really get into trouble with. She made sure GG had her balance before she headed to the desk and sat heavily in the chair. The weather, combined with the almost fight she'd had with Luke this morning, was doing nothing to improve her mood and now she had a mystery letter to contend with. With one final glance at the toddler, she finally pulled the envelope towards her and grabbed the tab on the back.

Lorelai's brow furrowed as she pulled out the stack of papers that were face down in the envelope. She peaked into the envelope quickly to make sure she hadn't left any in there before she turned them over and began to scan through them. The furrowed brow quickly disappeared as she began to realise what exactly she had just pulled out of the envelope.

* * *

Luke kicked himself all the way to the diner. He didn't really have a right to be this angry at Lorelai. Sure, she had told him that she was going to baby sit this kid after she had already agreed to, but it kind of made sense to him that she was doing this so Christopher could do things right with his kid this time around.

Unfortunately, no matter how many times he told himself that, it didn't get any easier to swallow. So, as a result of the rather unpleasant encounter he'd had with his girl friend this morning, and the depressing weather outside, Luke was on a tear in the diner.

"Maybe you should go talk to her," Lane suggested suddenly as the breakfast rush died down. The frustrated sound in her voice wasn't lost on him.

"No," he answered automatically. Lane opened her mouth to say something else, but he turned quickly and headed to the kitchen. Caesar popped out a few seconds later, looking slightly harassed.

"What is up with him?" he whispered to Lane, gesturing over his shoulder. All she could do was offer him a shrug before she grabbed the coffee pot and went to give refills. Caesar cast one more glance over his shoulder at the kitchen before he headed off to take orders while Luke slammed around in the kitchen.

Luke slammed a few more pots around in the back before he moved on to cleaning the grill and he was a little surprised that he was finding something therapeutic about the busy work today. Of course, just as he was finding calm again, he heard Kirk come in and start asking a million questions about the lunch special.

"Kirk!" he yelled out from the back suddenly and he felt a sense of satisfaction as the diner grew quiet for an instant. Kirk quickly, and meekly, placed his order and Lane passed it through. As he went through the motions of making a patty melt, he began to consider his options with Lorelai and GG. He had told her that he had until 6 today to make contact and, after that, they were going to do something about the situation.

He just wasn't exactly sure what to do about the situation.

He knew the logical step was to call the cops and let them sort it all out, but that story Lorelai had told him about her and Rory and the general state of things in the Haden house hold made him want to hesitate.

However, he also didn't want to help raise another one of Chris' kids. He had done that with Rory and really didn't feel like doing it again.

"Luke's," he heard Lane answer the phone after a couple of rings. He gave his head a shake to clear the rest of the unfinished thoughts that were floating around his head. "It's Lorelai," she said, leaning into the kitchen and holding the phone out to him. He stared at the phone for a moment before he finally took it.

"What is it?" he asked her as he flipped Kirks burger and tended to a few other things on the grill.

"You need to get down here," she said in a rush. "You need to drop everything and get down to the inn."

"You could always come here," he said, not particularly eager to trek all they way out to the inn for what ever minor freak out she was having, especially since it looked like it was going to rain again outside.

"This is not a diner conversation," she told him. He was about to protest again when something in her voice registered as not right. "I really, really, really need you to come down here and I really, really, really need you to come down here now." He paused for a moment and tried to figure out what she could possibly be thinking.

"Fine," he said, cutting her off before she could begin to rant again. He finished throwing together Kirk's patty melt as he assured her he'd be right down. He quickly hung up the phone and dropped the plate off before he called to Caesar to take over the grill and he'd be back in a bit. Caesar and Lane both waved him off as he grabbed his coat and headed for his truck.

* * *

"Where's Lorelai?" Luke asked as soon as he set foot in the Dragonfly's lobby. Michel looked at him like he had a bad taste in his mouth and Luke couldn't really blame him. The sky had opened up again while he had been driving to the inn and the rain had almost become a torrent as he walked the few feet to the inn, leaving him dripping slightly. "Michel, where is she?" he asked again.

"She's in the back," he said, pointing a finger before heading off to find a mop. Luke sent the Frenchman a look before he took off his coat and gave it a good shake, making sure the puddle was going to be as big as he could make it. He also walked a little heavier than was needed to the office to make sure there were plenty of foot prints for the man to clean up. Just as he was about to knock on the door to the office, it swung open and Lorelai's arm shot out and grabbed his shirt, pulling him in.

"He's nuts!" she started ranting as soon as the door was closed behind him. Luke desperately tried to follow what she was going on about, but she was talking too fast and gesturing wildly.

"Who's nuts?" he asked her as he finally stopped her from stalking around the room. This only sent Lorelai into another rant about how Luke wasn't paying attention to her. He held her in front of him as he waited this rant out. "Who's nuts?" he asked her again, making sure he was the one who was calm.

"Christopher!" she finally fired back at him as she got loose from his grasp. She headed to the desk, picked up the stack of papers that had come out of the envelope and thrust them at Luke. He fumbled with the stack for a moment before bending over to pick up the few pieces of paper that had escaped his grasp. He frowned as he began to realise what he was holding.

"This is. . . " he trailed off as he became engrossed in one of the legal documents.

"This is her," she said as she came to stand beside him. She rustled through the papers pointing out various legal documents including a birth certificate, immunization records and other pages that basically represented the toddler in the room. "And," she said as she pulled out a rather official looking document from the bottom of the pile. "The kicker," she said as she plucked the page Luke was reading from his hands and gave him the one she had.

"Termination of parental rights?" he asked as he read the title of the document. He scanned down the page, noting the signature of Christopher and some other guy. He paused when he saw the blank space that had a 'sign here' Post-It still attached to it. He finally looked up from the paper to Lorelai, not really sure what to say.

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

* * *

Luke and Lorelai had stared at the papers silently for some time before a crash from the corner of the room made them jump. They turned to see GG standing amid a pile of books and DVD's that were waiting to be catalogued and placed in the living room.

"Uh ooh," the little girl offered as she looked around at the scattered piles of books and DVD's around her, the one she had pulled from the pile still held in her hand. Lorelai quickly tossed the papers she was holding back into Luke's had before she headed over to rescue GG.

"Come on," she said lightly to the girl. "Help me clean up," she prompted as she started to gather the books first. GG watched as she started to rebuild the pile and she quickly caught on. She dropped the DVD case to the ground and began picking up the books one by one and putting them on the growing pile.

Luke stayed rooted to where he stood and watched as she quickly got the toddler organised. He wasn't really sure what else to do. He watched the pair for a moment longer, listening as Lorelai murmured encouragements to the little girl before his eyes dropped back down to the papers in his hands. He shuffled through them, passing over the ones he had already read over until he found one that he hadn't seen yet.

He scanned over the page, pausing to read the sentences that contained Lorelai, Christopher or GG's names. He did a double take when he saw his included in the second paragraph.

"Did you read all of these?" he asked her, his eyes still glued to his name in the document.

"I think I made it through the first 3," she said, not turning away from her task. GG paused to look at him for a moment before Lorelai coaxed her back to the task at hand.

"Did you happen to read one labeled Petition for Adoption?" Luke asked, finally looking up from the paper. He watched as Lorelai's hand hesitated half way to the pile of books. He watched as her grip on the book wavered for a moment before she finally got it onto the pile.

"I did," she told him calmly, admitting that that was the page that had made her call him in a panic. He casually mentioned that his name was included on the petition and she nodded again as she and GG moved on to collecting the DVD cases.

Luke sunk into one of the chairs in the room shortly after that and a heavy silence fell over the trio, broken only by GG who gave an excited exclamation when she realised how tall the DVD/book tower was.

"I don't think we need the cops any more," Luke muttered after a long moment and Lorelai turned to look at him for the first time since she had started stacking things. They locked eyes and she chewed on her bottom lip as she tried to come up with something to say. "I'll, uh, I'll see if Lane and Caesar can close tonight," he said after another long pause. "I'll bring home dinner too," he threw in.

"It's Friday," Lorelai suddenly said. The pair paused and looked at each other for a moment. "It's Friday night and I haven't told my parents." Luke watched as Lorelai started to rev herself up into a panic about not having told Rory the whole story, nor had she told her parents anything.

"I'll watch her," he said all of a sudden, cutting her off.

"What?" was all she could say. Luke stood up, placed the papers on the desk and headed over to her.

"I'll watch her," he said, sounding slightly more confident this time. "You are going to go home, shower, change and then drop her off at the diner before you grab a cup of coffee and head to Hartford." Lorelai listened as he calmly laid out this plan and she couldn't help but shake her head in disbelief. She remembered his jam hands rant as well as his tales about not liking children. "You are going to trap Rory in your parents drive way," he continued on, ignoring her head shaking as well as she shocked look on her face. "You are going to tell her exactly what has been going on and you are going to tell her about the lovely set of papers we got today. You two will take a moment to . . . Discuss this and then you will head in and, eventually, tell your parents an abbreviated version of the happenings before the whole mess ends in a fight and you come home and we proceed to have a passionate discussion about the situation."

"You mean a fight," she supplied quietly. He rubbed his hands up and down her arms for a moment before he clarified that it would be a passionate discussion because there would be a toddler in the room. "A passionate discussion," she agreed after a moment. They studied each other for a long moment and he could see the concern in her eyes. Lorelai, on the other hand, wasn't really sure what she could see in Luke's face.

"A passionate discussion," he said quietly, effectively ending the conversation. She heaved one last sigh and let her head drop forward. He gently pulled her close and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. She slowly snaked her arms around him as he held her close and the pair stayed like that for a long moment before Lorelai pulled away to look down at the little girl who had wandered over to them. The two adults looked down at her for a moment before Lorelai loosened her grip on Luke and bend down to pick her up. GG immediately stuck her thumb in her mouth as she looked questioningly at the two adults. "You're gonna spend some time with me tonight," Luke told the little girl after a moment. "What do you think about that?" he asked her. GG sighed and cocked her head to the side as she took Luke in. She eventually offered a little shrug of her shoulders and that was good enough for Luke.

He stepped away form the girls after a moment and gathered the pages back up, putting them back into the envelope they had come in. GG and Lorelai watched as he walked calmly to the back of the room and tucked the envelope into the baby bag. He gathered a few toys that had been left on Lorelai's desk and shoved them in the bag before he slung it over his shoulder. They turned and followed him as he wandered to the door and grabbed Lorelai's coat and the sweater Sookie had lent her before he wandered back over to them.

Silently, they got GG into the sweater before he helped Lorelai into her coat.

"Go home," he told her as he slipped the baby bag onto her shoulder. "Do a pro/con list of whatever it is that you need to do to plan things out." He looked her straight in the eye and only looked away after she nodded her understanding. He opened the door and gestured for her to go first. She slipped out and he followed, shutting the door silently behind him.

"Sookie," she said after a moment. Before he could ask her what she meant, Lorelai had fumbled the toddler into his arms and the bag onto his shoulder before she rushed towards the kitchen. Luke stood in the lobby, glancing around rather awkwardly as he waited for Lorelai to reappear. He made sure to turn away from Michel, not wanting to see the snide smirk on the Frenchman's face. GG started to fuss a few moments later, growing bored and starting to get hot in the heavy sweater so he began to bounce her a little. He couldn't help but roll his eyes because of how ridiculous he felt and he willed Lorelai to hurry up.

"Ok," she said as she rushed out of the kitchen and took GG from him. "I can go now." Luke went over the plan for the evening again as they jogged out to the jeep, trying to stay as dry as they could. She assured Luke that she'd follow the plan before he finally closed the drivers side door. He watched her go for a moment before he shook some of the rain off of himself and jogged towards his truck.

As soon as he got behind the wheel, he sat and let his mind finally absorb the situation that had unfolded over the last couple of days. His mind kept drifting back to the petition for adoption and the shock at seeing his name, and Lorelai's, listed as adoptive parents. He didn't know how he felt about this. He had never really considered having kids, he knew Lorelai wanted more, but he had never really considered it.

As he finally started his truck and headed towards the diner, he decided that he was going to have to consider it.

* * *

With a quick stop at the video store to load up on toddler friendly videos, Lorelai and GG returned home. Lorelai quickly set the little girl up in front of the TV before she pulled the dreaded envelope out of the baby bag and started to read all the documents. She laid the simple things aside, GG's birth certificate, her immunization records, before started to slog through the more technical legal documents.

She also began to make a mental list. She was going to have to find a lawyer and probably try and track down Sherry and maybe even Chris. She was also going to have to rethink her budget if she was going to have to keep GG for a while. Profit margins at the inn were still razor thin and, as a result, wages were reasonable, but still a little lower than they had been when the staff had been working at the Independence Inn.

She was also working on what she was going to tell Rory and her parents.

She sighed heavily as she finally focused on the paper she was holding and started to read about Chris legally terminating his parental rights as the Sesame Street muppets chattered away in the back ground.

* * *

Chris yawned and sighed as he heard his cell phone start to buzz again. He had been doing nothing but driving since he left GG with Lorelai. He had pointed his car south and headed towards California. He still had some friends there and since he had something other than failed IT companies on his resume now, he was more than a little confident that he could make a real living down there and lose himself in the crowds. He turned down the TV in his cheep hotel room before he rolled over on the bed to grab his cell phone. He smiled to himself a little when he saw Rory's cell phone number flashing on the display and he nearly answered it. He changed his mind quickly though, when it occurred to him that Lorelai had more than likely enlisted her to start phoning him as well, trying to track him down.

He held is phone as it buzzed a few more times and grew silent and then he waited for the buzz that would come when Rory was done leaving a message. He sighed heavily when the buzz finally came and he flipped the phone open to see that he had 6 new voicemails.

"So, it's been over a day since I heard from you," he heard Lorelai's voice blare at him through the phone. He erased the message without listening to the rest of it. The next one was from Lorelai too, asking him to please call her, or at least pass on a number she could use to call his parents. "I have a job and a life Chris, I can't and don't really want to play mommy to your kid." he heard.

"Dad, you really need to call me. Or mom. This is not good dad," Rory's voice was next. He listened to her whole message, but it said pretty much the same things all the others had said. Call one of us, tell us what's going on, we only want to help if you're in trouble. He erased the next two messages too, also from Rory.

"Oh my God, are you out of your mind!?" Lorelai yelled at him in the last message. Chris was happy to hear that she had gotten the envelope. "I am not going to adopt your kid! I am not going to clean up your mess again!" she yelled at him. He cringed a little as she used some rather colourful metaphors before demanding to know why he hadn't just dumped GG on his parents before demanding that he call her back and explain this.

He deleted Angry Lorelai from his phone before he turned it off for the night and tossed it onto the bed side table. He hadn't left GG with his parents for the very simple reason that they had been in the Bahamas until recently, returning to Connecticut for only a few days before they packed off to Europe for the season.

He also wasn't sure he wanted GG to grow up like he had, he didn't want her to be forced to become the ideal daughter and then face his parents scorn if she didn't. Lorelai wouldn't let that happen to the little girl.

He had to admit, however, that he was slightly worried that things wouldn't work out the way he wanted them to after listened to Angry Lorelai.

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

* * *

Luke came home a few hours later. He was slightly more relaxed than Lorelai was, simply because the diner had been too busy for him to think about anything but what he was doing. He sat back from the steering where of the truck as he took a moment to steel himself.

Luke had never actually baby sat before. Hell, he had never been left along with a kid younger than 13 before. Luke heaved one last sigh before he grabbed the bag of groceries he had bought on the way home, threw open the door and headed towards the house.

"Lorelai?" he called out as he closed the door behind himself with his foot.

"Hold on!" she yelled down. He glanced around the living room and shook his head when he saw the mess of paper, markers, videos and other things that Lorelai had produced for GG to play with. He headed to the kitchen shortly after taking in the disaster of the living room and he started to put away the groceries. "Ok," Lorelai said, sounding rather breathless as she hurried down the stairs, the little girl in her arms. "I would imagine that dinner is going to end early on a count of a large, fiery argument, so I should be back by 9:30, 10 at the latest. I might even bring Rory home with me," she told him as she dumped GG into his arms. The toddler clung tightly to his flannel as he fumbled her for a moment. Lorelai frowned a little as she watched the performance, but quickly began an internal mantra of 'it'll be fine!'.

"We'll be fine," he told her as he finally got GG settled on his hip. He and the toddler watched as Lorelai rushed around the kitchen, gathering a few more things before she finally came to a stop in front of the pair once again.

"You're sure you're okay with this?" she asked one last time as she shrugged her coat on.

"I volunteered, didn't I?" he asked her as he handed her her purse. "It will be fine," he said, having a feeling that she needed to hear him say the words.

"I know it will," she said with an artificial sureness and a bright smile. "Ok, I'm off. Call if you need anything," she said as she dug her keys out of her purse. Luke assured her once again that everything would be fine and he quickly escorted Lorelai to the door and made sure that she actually got into the jeep and started towards Hartford.

"So," he said after a long moment of silence. "What now?" he asked the toddler. GG looked at Luke for a moment before she drew in a shaky breath. Luke steeled himself for the cry that he was sure was about to erupt, but he was pleasantly surprised when it didn't come. GG simply produced a pacifier, seemingly out of nowhere, popped it in her mouth and laid her head down on Luke's shoulder. He frowned a little as he continued to stand in the middle of the living room until he decided that he might as well introduce himself to some of the videos that were now littering the floor.

* * *

Lorelai pulled into the driveway of her childhood home and stopped, making sure that her mother wouldn't be able to see her jeep parked outside the house. She turned off the engine and waited patiently for Rory to arrive. She saw Rory's car pull up shortly after and she quickly unzipped her window and leaned out.

"Get in," she called when she saw Rory get out of her car. Rory offered Lorelai a look before she locked up her own car and climbed into the Jeep.

"Grandma is going to flip out if she finds us out here," Rory said as soon as she slid into the passenger seat.

"Your dad dumped your sister on me and Luke," Lorelai blurted out immediately.

"What?" Rory asked as she sat up straight in the seat, looking at her mother as she tried to determine if this was a bad joke.

"He convinced me to baby sit and then he took off. A courier dropped an envelope off at the inn today and do you know what it was full of?"

"Puppies?" Rory asked hopefully.

"Legal documents," she said with a shake of her head. "Birth certificates, termination of parental rights, immunization records," she ticked off the papers on her fingers and watched as Rory's mouth dropped a little further with each item. "And, the kicker to this whole thing? He included a petition for adoption, all filled out and awaiting mine and Luke's signatures." Rory and Lorelai blinked at each other for a long moment and the jeep feel into silence.

"Wow," Rory finally got out as her brain started to absorb what her mother had just told her. "Wait, what about Sherry? Is this legal? What about Luke?" she asked quickly, all in a rush. "And where is GG?" she asked, pointing to the empty car seat in the back of the jeep. She had noticed it through the back window.

"I don't know, I don't know about any of it. As for Luke?" Lorelai asked as she flopped back in her seat to think about things for a moment. "I don't know that either. He's at home watching GG right now and he promised me a 'passionate discussion' when I got home. But, I don't know! I mean, he's all ready to pick a fight about it one minute, and then he seems okay with it the next. He's worse than a pregnant woman," she quipped. Rory couldn't help but smirk and giggle when she heard this. She grew quiet again after a moment.

"This is why you wanted me to phone dad, wasn't it?" she asked, putting the events of the last few days together. Lorelai nodded and confirmed that it was. "What are you going to tell them?" she asked, nodding towards the large house that loomed over the jeep. Lorelai shrugged and shook her head.

"That I'm watching GG for a while, I guess," she said as she finally started to pack up to get out of the car. "I don't want to give too many specifics right away. Not until Luke and I have had our 'passionate discussion' and figured out what to do."

"Why not tell them nothing?" Rory asked as she and Lorelai headed for the front door. "Why not just break everything to them after you've made your decision?"

"Because I want the big fiery argument to happen so I get home early," she muttered as she rang the door bell.

"Sadist," Rory grumbled.

"My middle name," Lorelai grumbled back as the pair quickly slapped contented looks on their faces so they didn't arouse suspicion.

"Shouldn't you two be in the pool house?" Emily asked as soon as she saw Lorelai and Rory on the door step.

"I need to talk to you and dad, and I figured it would be easier to tell the two of you at once instead of separately," Lorelai said quickly as she and Rory stepped into the house and handed the maid their coats. She quickly explained how she had phoned Richard while on the road and asked him to come over to the main house just as there was a knock at the French Doors in the living room. Emily frowned as she led the girls to the living room and let Richard in.

"Well?" Emily asked impatiently, more than a little eager to usher Richard out of the house again. Lorelai glanced at Rory before she looked at both of her parents.

"Christopher called me the other day," she said, and quickly filled the elder Gilmore's in on what had been happening in Christopher's life recently. She raised her voice a little and kept going with her story when she saw her mother getting ready to start lecturing her about babysitting GG. "He never came back," she finally got out and she watched as her parent's faces turned 13 different shades of red. "And today, a courier dropped off an envelope that basically contained GG on paper, as well as some other treats for Luke and me." Lorelai sat back as she finished and waited for the yelling to start.

Emily and Richard sat on their chairs, too stunned to say anything right away. Lorelai and Rory glanced at each other hesitantly, not sure what to do.

"Are you insane?" Emily finally got out. Lorelai and Rory sunk back into the couch as they listened to Emily go on and on about how it was bad enough that she insisted on dating 'that filthy diner owner' and now she was going to raise Christopher's child? Emily eventually yelled herself out and promptly excused herself, saying she needed to check on dinner. The girls turned their attention to Richard who had been silent through his estranged wife's tirade.

"You've gotten an attorney?" he asked calmly.

"Not yet," Lorelai said, straightening up on the couch slightly. "Luke and I haven't really had a chance to discuss everything yet. We'll look into one tomorrow." Richard nodded slowly and offered some recommendations before the trio fell into silence.

Lorelai was at a loss, she had honestly expected her father to have more to say about the matter than he had. She also hadn't expected her mother to yell herself out so quickly. Fortunately, as Lorelai tried to think of something to say, Rory quickly turned the conversation to literature and Yale. As Richard and Rory became more and more engrossed in their personal conversation, Lorelai began to wonder where exactly her mother was. Eventually, she excused herself and headed to the kitchen.

"Mom?" she asked when she saw her downing a glass of Scotch. Lorelai wandered over to the island in the kitchen and stood across from Emily, waiting.

Emily glanced at Lorelai before she poured herself a little more scotch. While she was disappointed beyond words that Christopher had run off to raise a child with that other woman, she was even more disappointed with the thought that Lorelai was most likely going to raise the child with Luke.

Christopher wasn't good at many things, but he was good at running away and if he didn't want to be found, he wouldn't.

"Mom?" she heard Lorelai ask again.

"This is unacceptable," Emily said, slamming her now empty glass down with a little more force than needed.

"Mom. . . " Lorelai started.

"You cannot raise that child! You simply can't!" she exclaimed, jumping to the conclusion that the decision had already been made.

"I don't know that I will," Lorelai said quickly. This threw Emily because it was definitely not the answer she was expecting. She quickly told her mother how she and Luke still needed to talk and decide what to do and then they needed to talk to a lawyer. The look on Emily's face at the mention of Luke was not lost on Lorelai. Lorelai talked about her plans for a few more moments before Emily took her glass in hand again and walked it over to the sink.

"We should go and join your father and Rory," was all she said as she left the kitchen. The issue of GG and Christopher was not talked about again for the rest of the dinner.

* * *

"Wow it's early," Rory said, glancing at her watch as her and her mother stood outside of the Gilmore house. Rory had convinced Emily to let Richard stay for dinner and the whole affair had been tense and rushed since Emily wanted him out of the house as soon as possible, but didn't want to disappoint Rory.

"I'll say," Lorelai replied as she glanced at Rory's watch.

"So, I was going to follow you home," Rory said as she followed Lorelai to the jeep. "But if you and Luke are going to talk."

"You could always go hang out with Lane," Lorelai offered. "Luke was going to get her and Caesar to close for him tonight. I also wouldn't be opposed to you taking GG with you. . . " she hinted.

"So, I guess I'll follow you home," Rory said with a shrug as she headed to the car.

"Coffee then home!" Lorelai called out. She was going to stop at a Starbucks and buy herself the largest cup of coffee known to man before she went home to deal with Luke and the issues at hand. Rory called out that she seconded that idea and soon, the pair were off.

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

* * *

While the girls were dealing with dinner in Hartford, Luke was dealing with GG at home. Keeping her occupied while he dealt with dinner wasn't hard, he simply put one of the videos on the TV and the toddler sat happily for the half hour.

Actually eating the food was another story and Luke eventually broke his 'no eating on the floor' policy since he felt no want or need to try and balance GG on his knee like Lorelai had been doing. He made a mental note to look into some kind of high chair for the toddler.

After dinner, however, Luke found himself running into trouble. GG was slipping into what Lorelai had quickly dubbed the '8:30 slump'. The toddler was tired and irritable and nothing he seemed to do seemed to make her any happier. If anything, he only seemed to be able to make things worse.

As the slump continued, GG became more discontent and Luke became more panicked. As he was about to start dialling Lorelai's cell phone, they both heard a car pull into the driveway.

"Thank God," he grumbled as he left GG, who was on the verge of a major melt down, and headed to the door. He swung it open, mildly pleased to see that the rain had stopped, and waited for Lorelai to appear.

"What?" she called out when she saw him in the door way.

"Get in here," he called back, wondering why she was standing in the driveway. Before she could call back, a second car pulled in behind the jeep.

"Way to speed," Rory quipped as she slipped out of her car. "Hi Luke!" she called out brightly, offering a smile and wave. Luke nodded towards Rory, but kept his attention focused on Lorelai. With a roll of her eyes, Lorelai jogged the last few feet to the house.

Before she could even ask Luke what was wrong, he was grabbing a hold of her arm and hurrying her into the house.

"What?" she finally got out as she got into the house.

"Your turn," he said simply, pointing to the disgruntled toddler who was in the living room before he stalked off into the kitchen. Lorelai and Rory shared a grin before they slipped off their coats and headed into the house.

"What's wrong?" Lorelai asked GG as she came to stand in front of the toddler. The little girl looked over to Rory for a moment before turning her attention back to Lorelai. Her arms shot up in the air and she offered a whine before Lorelai scooped her up. "Honey, go offer Luke some grown up conversation," Lorelai told Rory with a nod towards the kitchen. Rory nodded and agreed and headed off to talk to Luke while Lorelai carried GG upstairs to get her ready for an early night.

* * *

Lorelai wandered around the master bedroom slowly, GG on her shoulder, humming some random Bangles song as she willed the baby to fall asleep quickly. She listen to the soft voices of Rory and Luke, more Rory than Luke, as they filtered up from the kitchen and she allowed herself a moment to wonder what life would be like if they did agree to keep the baby.

She didn't dwell there long because the common sense she tended to ignore wouldn't shut up about the possibility of Luke declaring himself out of the relationship.

She sighed heavily and gave her head a bit of a shake, trying to physically remove that thought from her head, as she headed over to the playpen that was still residing at the foot of the bed. As GG grew heavier in her arms, she began to fish out the clothing that had been tossed onto and into the play pen during the morning rush before she gently laid the toddler down. Lorelai stood nearby for a moment to make sure was really down before she slid out of the room and down the stairs.

As Lorelai slipped into the kitchen, she couldn't help but smile as she listened to Rory and Luke share a laugh about something. They pair sobered up when they realised she was in the room and heading for the coffee pot.

"So, I guess I'll go and keep Lane company," Rory said as she drained the last of her coffee and slid out of her chair. She offered her mother a hug before she slipped out of the kitchen to grab her coat.

As soon as she had left the kitchen, Luke had gotten up to get him self a cup of tea while Lorelai played with her coffee cup as she leaned casually against the kitchen counter. As soon as they heard the door to the house close, both of the adults lifted their heads and as soon as they had heard Rory drive off towards town, they both quickly sat at the table.

"So," Luke said as he stared at the envelope that was sitting in the middle of the kitchen table.

"So. . . I wouldn't mind some Bourbon right about now," Lorelai quipped as she took a sip of coffee. The fact that Luke didn't crack a smile wasn't lost on her.

"How was dinner?" he asked. He had decided on a line of questioning, and what questions to ask, while Lorelai had been at dinner.

"Quieter than I had expected," she told him, staring into her coffee mug instead of at him. "My mother yelled and cried about how her perfect ending had been spoiled, probably for good, then she asked me if I was happy and then she stormed off to start drinking scotch in the kitchen." Luke looked up from his tea to see if she was kidding or not about the scotch drinking, but Lorelai was unreadable. "Then my dad offered me the names of some lawyers he knew and I went to talk my mother out of the kitchen," she offered with a shrug as she took a deep breath before finally looking up at Luke. "How was your night?" she asked after a long moment.

"Never again," he said, shaking his head, his face perfectly serious.

"Really?" Lorelai asked in disbelief. "Because she seemed pretty happy."

"Yeah, when you got home," he said. "With me? Everything I did was wrong, everything made her screech, a very unpleasant sound." Lorelai agreed and promised that next time ("Next time?" Luke asked with an arched eye brow.) it would be earlier in the day and the baby would be in a better mood. The pair fell into their own thoughts for a moment before Luke reached out and grabbed the envelope and started to pull things out of it again. Lorelai crossed her arms on the table in front of her as she waited.

"We're not doing this," Luke said flat out. "She's not our responsibility in anyway, shape or form."

"Who made you the judge and jury on this subject?" she asked him as she sat back in her chair.

"I am not raising Christopher's kid," he told her. "It was hard enough watching Rory through everything with him, I'm not picking up the pieces again."

"So, what do you want to do?" Lorelai asked him. "Just put her out on the curb and hope for the best?" Luke rolled his eyes and pushed away from the table before he started to outline his original plan of leaving the toddler with the police and letting them deal with it. "They won't deal with it," Lorelai said as she dug through the papers. "This means she's no longer legally his," she said, holding up the paper that said Chris relinquished his parental rights.

"So? He tricked you, tricked us into this. That's gotta count for something," he shot back as he rummaged through the cupboards looking for the tea bags he had stashed in the house.

"What are they going to care? I agree to watch GG until Christopher came to retrieve her, she's my responsibility," Lorelai called back to Luke.

"She's not!" Luke yelled back, slamming the tin of tea bags on the counter. "When are you going to realise that what he does isn't your responsibility? That you don't have to rescue him every time he asks?" the pair stared at each other for a long moment until Lorelai looked away from him and focused her attention on anything that wasn't Luke. Luke sighed heavily and shook his head a little as he turned his attention to the tin that was still in his hand. He leaned against the counter a little as he tried to calm down and figure out what to do next.

Lorelai buried her head in her hands as she tried to figure a way out of the argument they were in. "What happens if we go into that lawyers office tomorrow and he tells us we're screwed, that she is now ours forever and ever amen?" Lorelai finally asked, breaking the heavy silence that had fallen over the kitchen.

"What happens if he tells us that we have no legal responsibility to take her in at all, what so ever?" Luke fired back, still not turning his attention away from making tea. The pair grew quiet again as they considered what the other had said.

"Well, we'll be getting off easy then, won't we?" Lorelai asked him as she finally looked over at him. She watched as the muscles in his back and shoulders moved stiffly and mechanically, going through the actions of filling the kettle and finding a mug.

"I guess things will have gotten more complicated then," he said slowly, replying to her initial question. She quickly asked him if it would be complicated in a good way or a bad way and he couldn't do much but shrug. He wasn't really sure what would happen if GG was theirs from now on.

"That's not exactly the vote of confidence I was hoping for," Lorelai muttered.

"What the hell do you want me to do? Jump up and down with glee?" he fired back. "You know that I don't like him, that I don't like you talking to him and you just went a head and agreed to baby sit his kid!"

"He needed some help being a dad!" she fired back. "You saw him with Rory, how was I just supposed to leave that little girl at his mercy?"

"I don't really care what his issue is," Luke said, finally turning around. "If you aren't ready to handle kids, you shouldn't be having sex," he said firmly, starting to gesture with his hands. "Especially if you've already abandoned one kid."

"Are you ready to handle kids?" she asked him as she stood up from the table and quickly walked over to him. "What if something like this happens to us?" She stared at Luke as he fumbled for an answer. "What if, a month down the line, I come to you and say 'Hey, I know we never talked about this, but would you feel about making this duo a trio?'? Are you going to immediately forget about jam hands and become Mr. mom?" she finished as she poked his chest with a finger, not even bothering to try and hide her anger.

"Maybe not right away, but I'd warm up to the idea," Luke finally responded, trying to pick the answer that would let him turn the conversation back towards Christopher.

"That's not exactly the answer I was hoping for, Luke."

"So, what? I'm a horrible person if I don't think us having a kid is a wonderful idea?" he asked, growing defensive and crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, but sounding like you're not lying through your teeth would be nice," she snapped at him.

"I am not lying!" he fired back at her. The pair glared at each other for a moment and just as Lorelai was about to open her mouth, a cry from upstairs interrupted them.

"I swear to God, if you're gone when I get back down. . . " she told him, pointing a finger at him before she turned on her heel and dashed for the stairs. Luke watched her go and then, for a second, contemplated slamming out of the house and holing up at the diner to regroup. He didn't really want to temp any more of Lorelai's wrath, so with a sigh he finally set about actually making the tea instead of simply banging the container around. He glanced up as he heard the baby start to calm down and the floor start to creek, a sign that Lorelai was now pacing the bedroom and hall slowly, trying to calm GG down again.

* * *


	9. Chapter 9

I'm having heavy issues with this story at the moment. I know what I want to have happen, but I'm having trouble getting there without having hte ending feel like a cop out.

Please be patient.

* * *

Lorelai sat on her bed and rested her head in her hands as she took a minute to regroup. While GG had gone back to sleep pretty easily, her mind was reeling over what had happened and was waiting for her downstairs. She scrubbed her hands over her face before she rested her head in the palm of her hand as she stared at the little figure in the play pen.

She hadn't felt this helpless since Rory was this small and they were living in the potting shed.

Lorelai sat for a few more minutes before she got up and walked over to the window. She stared out at the stars that were starting to come out before she heaved one last sigh and cast one last glance at the baby before she slipped out of the room. She left the door open a crack before she headed for the stairs.

"Round two?" she asked when she saw Luke sitting at the kitchen table, a steaming cup of tea. He looked up slowly from his mug and the pair locked eyes for a moment. She stood, leaning against the doorway of the kitchen until he gestured for her to take a seat.

"We really need to avoid the hows and whys of all of this," he said as he shoved a pad of paper and a pen into the middle of the table.

"Agreed," she said cautiously as she eyed the paper and pen.

"We need a plan," he said. "We need a plan for the here and now." Lorelai agreed again before she asked him what his plan was. "A list," he said calmly, pulling the pad of paper back towards him. "People we need to talk to, things we need to get, things we need to do."

"Ok," she said firmly with a nod before she pushed away from the table. He started to protest, but she shushed him as she headed for the coffee maker. "So, have you read all the papers?" she asked him as she pulled her coffee grounds out of the fridge.

"Didn't understand half of it," he said as he turned slightly in his seat to watch her.

"Me either. Maybe you understood the half I didn't," she quipped with a smile as she filled the coffee maker. He couldn't help but snicker a little too. "I guess finding a lawyer is next on the list," she said after a moment. "My dad gave me some names, but they probably start at an arm and a leg." He quickly wrote down Lawyer on the top of the page. "We should probably look for Sherry too."

"Who?" he asked.

"Sherry. GG's mother?" she prompted, looking at him in disbelief that he didn't remember.

"Isn't she in Peru or something?"

"Paris," she corrected him, mildly pleased that he was at least kind of paying attention to things she told him. With a shake of his head and a muttered 'whatever' he put it on the list. The pair bickered about a few little things as she waited for her coffee to brew.

"Hey, I was thinking that maybe we should pick up a few things for GG," Luke said after a moment of silence.

"What?" she asked, turning to look at him. She couldn't believe she had just heard those words come out of his mouth.

"Things," he said again, grasping for words. "Maybe something else to wear, something else to read? I think I'll bring a high chair home from the diner," he said as he jotted these things down on the pad.

"Well, look at you turning all provider and protector," she quipped with a smile as she finally poured herself a cup of coffee.

"I'm just tired of doing a load of laundry every day, reading the same two books all the time and watching you hold her all the time," he said, rationalising what he had said. Lorelai quickly hid a grin in her coffee cup. "What?" he asked her when he saw the smile in her eyes.

"Nothing," she said quickly, trying to play the smile off as she got up from the table again and headed to the fridge to find a snack. Luke cleared his throat and shook his head before he turned his attention back to the list again.

"If she's going to be here for any amount of time, I want her out of the bed room," he said, writing this down without waiting for her answer.

"Move her where?" Lorelai asked as she headed over to pull a spoon, plastic, out of the drawer. "We're not exactly drowning in free space," she remarked sarcastically as she pulled the lid off the can of frosting she had pulled out of the fridge. He blinked at her for a minute before he nodded towards Rory's room. "How is she supposed to study?" Luke just sent Lorelai a look. He watched as she floundered for a moment before she finally conceded and agreed that they could move the baby. "We need to find a sitter too. I can't keep bringing her to work with me."

Luke jotted down a note about finding a sitter on the list as Lorelai reminded him that the nanny agency was paid for the foreseeable future. "But they say they won't come to Stars Hollow," she reminded him as she dug into her frosting. Luke rolled his eyes.

"I bet," he quipped. "What about his parents?"

"Adolf and Ava?" Lorelai asked as she played with the frosting. "I can track them down, I have no idea if they'll talk to me," she said with a shrug.

"On the list," he said as he started to write it down. He hesitated. "Their names aren't really Adolf and Ava, are they?"

"Straub and Francine," she clarified. "Never thought I'd have to see them again," she said with a shake of her head. "We should try to get into his apartment," she said after a minute. "If we can get in, maybe we can just take what we need from there." Luke agreed and jotted it down quickly. A heavy silence fell over the pair as they sat at the table, each lost in their own thoughts.

"I should go," he said after a moment, pushing the pad of paper and his now empty tea cup away. "Early morning."

"You're not staying," she said as she put the lid back on the frosting.

"No," he said as he stood up from the table. "I just. . . I need. . . "

"To not be here right now," Lorelai finished for him. While they had put together the list without bickering, they still had issues.

"Lorelai," he started. He walked over to her, arms open but quickly dropped them when he watched her wrap her arms around herself and pull away from him. "I'll see you in the morning," he said quietly. She turned away from him a little and nodded. Luke took one final look at his girl friend before he heaved a sigh and headed for the door.

* * *


	10. Chapter 10

Well, long time no see kids. Rumours of my death have not been that greatly exagerated. Turning into a grown up sucks.

* * *

Lorelai woke up alone the next morning, something that had become an unusual occurrence for a Saturday morning. Usually, Luke headed in for the late morning rush, instead of the early morning rush. She looked to the side of the bed that usually held Luke before she rolled flat on her back and stared up at the ceiling. She really wanted nothing more than to roll over and go back to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come any more.

As she heard GG start to stir, she flopped her head to the side and squinted at the alarm clock to see just how early it was. She groaned and scrubbed a hand over her face when she realised that it wasn't that early at all, at least not when your schedule was being dictated by a toddler.

With a sigh, she pulled her self up and crawled to the end of the bed. She and GG locked eyes for a moment before the toddler got her self up and Lorelai pulled her up onto the bed.

"Come on babe," she said quietly as she headed back to the wall of pillows at the head of the bed and GG followed slowly behind.

"Go?" she asked quietly, looking up at Lorelai with big blue eyes.

"Go where?" Lorelai asked her as she welcomed her under the covers. GG considered her options for a short moment.

"Daddy," she said firmly as she made herself comfortable on the bed next to Lorelai.

"Not today," Lorelai said quickly as she brushed some of GG's hair out of her eyes. She watched as a frown fell over the little girls face as she puzzled this out.

"No," she said again after a moment, shaking her head. "Daddy," she added, her voice firm, as she pointed towards the bedroom door, trying to get the point across that she wanted to go. Lorelai frowned as the little girl began to grow more insistent, more frantic.

"He's working," Lorelai blurted out all of a sudden as she got a hold of GG to calm her down. "He's busy, busy, busy like a bee." Lorelai watched in mild amusement as the toddler mulled this over in her mind, her insistent hand slowly dropping to her side.

"Busbee?" GG asked after a moment.

"Yes!" Lorelai said enthusiastically as her face lit up. "Busy like a bee. So, you are going to play with me, Sookie and Davey today," she explained as she left the toddler on the bed before she headed to her closet. Lorelai began rattling off a list of games and things they would all play as she threw together an outfit. "Now, you read this and play with these while I shower, then we'll do something about breakfast, ok?"

"'Kay," GG said as she accepted the book and the toy before Lorelai picked her up, dropped a kiss on the top of her head and dropped her back into the play pen before she grabbed her change of clothes and headed for the bathroom.

* * *

"You're quiet," Sookie remarked as she and Lorelai sat in Sookie's back yard, watching the toddlers play. Davey was definitely more of a doer than GG was. Lorelai replied that she hadn't slept well as Sookie looked over at her friend for a moment. The pair fell into silence, Lorelai collecting her thoughts and Sookie hoping that she wouldn't have to ask.

"Luke isn't happy," Lorelai finally said. "I mean really not happy."

"As in about as happy as he is after a recital at Miss Patty's?" the chef asked, thinking about the stories she'd heard about Luke and his diner full of little ballerinas.

"No, happy like he is every Saturday when the Mommy and Me brigade takes over the diner."

"Ouch," Sookie replied. The pair turned their attention back to the kids and Lorelai quickly got up to diffuse a fight that was starting to brew between the kids. She watched as GG was quickly brought to the other side of the yard to play with something else for a while, even though both women knew the kids would slowly migrate back together. Sookie looked at Lorelai expectantly as she came to sit again. After a moment, she spilled out the events of last night. "Well, did you really expect him to be okay with this?"

"Of course not!" Lorelai said defensively. "I just had really high hopes," she finished with a sigh. Sookie shook her head as she contemplated what to say next. "I have to fix this," she said, leaning her elbows on her knees. "I'm just not really sure how."

"You need to find Christopher," the chef supplied. Lorelai shook her head and said they had a better chance of convincing Sherry to come home from France.

"I have to call his parents," she muttered, burying her head in her hands. "I have to find them and convince them that I'm not lying and that they need to come back here from where ever they are in Europe. I don't even know if they're still living in the Bahamas or not." Sookie assured Lorelai that everything would be fine. "But?" Lorelai prompted as she realised Sookie was holding something back.

"I'm just thinking out loud but, what if they don't come back? What if they just shrug and say it's your issue now?" Lorelai quickly shook her head.

"Do you remember what happened the last time they were in town?" Sookie thought about things for a moment before she nodded. "They think I'm the devil in a blue mini, why on earth would they leave their beloved grand daughter with me?"

"Why are you so sure they think so highly of GG?"

"Because not only did Sherry marry him, but she made him grow up and get a big boy job," she said. "Chris moved to Boston and got an office job for her and when she got pregnant, he went back to her and married her even though it wasn't really what he wanted to do at the time," Lorelai finished as she dug through GG's baby bag to pull out the juice for the little girl who had wandered over, a few steps a head of her companion who was doing the same.  
"Craziness," Sookie said with a shake of her head as she handed Davey a juice cup.

"No argument here," Lorelai replied. As the kids wandered off again, the women settled back into their chairs to enjoy the mild fall day. Each was still thinking about the situation at hand, but neither were thinking the same thing.

* * *

"Here," Emily Gilmore said abruptly as she marched into the Dragonfly and straight up to Lorelai who was standing at the desk.

"Mom?" she asked, more than a little confuses as to why her mother was here.

"I don't have all day," she said as she shook the piece of paper at her daughter again. With an arched eye brow Lorelai slowly reached out and took the paper. She unfolded it and glanced at what was written on it.

"A phone number?" she asked quizzically. Emily rolled her eyes and quickly explained that she had tracked down Straub and Francine for her. Emily made the whole thing sound like she was doing this out of the goodness of her heart, but Lorelai had a feeling that it was because Emily wanted to keep GG from becoming a permanent member of the family. Emily continued on quickly saying that the Haden's were only going to be at the hotel for another few days before they moved on and it would be best if Lorelai didn't dawdle in calling them. "How much did you tell them?" she asked immediately.

"Lorelai Gilmore! I went out of my way to help you and this is the thanks I get?" she asked, sounding more than a little upset. Lorelai rolled her eyes and quickly began apologising, saying that it had been a long week and she was tired and frustrated and hadn't meant that. After a sniff, Emily finally informed her that she had been vague, simply that Christopher had left something for them with Lorelai and that she'd be calling them shortly to discuss pick up details. Lorelai digested this information for a moment before she absently thanked her mother and invited her to stay for a cup of coffee.

Emily quickly blew her off, saying that she had antiquing to do before she headed back to Hartford.

"Bye mom," Lorelai called after her mother, even though she had received no such good bye, or greeting. Her eyes drifted to the piece of paper still held tightly in her hand and she began to mentally plan out what she was going to say to the Haden's and what they might reply. Eventually, however, she was jolted out of her day dreaming by Michel who was more than a little insistent that she get out of his way and give him back his chair.

* * *

Lorelai sat at her kitchen table, the decimated remains of a pizza sitting around her. She listened to GG chattering away in the living room as she stared at the post-it her mother had given her. She had stuck it to the table, slightly to her left while the phone sat, slightly to her right and she didn't have the guts to really focus all her attention on either.

She and Luke were still. . . She wasn't exactly sure what she and Luke were at the moment. She knew they were still together, but their friendship, let alone their relationship hadn't been this strained in a long time. Possibly since that fight she and Luke had had over Jess crashing Rory's car. Talking with Sookie hadn't really helped, she had just vocalised all the thoughts running around in Lorelai's head without really offering any helpful insight. 

As she pushed herself away from the table, Lorelai did know one thing for sure; she missed Luke but didn't know how to make it better yet.

"Come on kiddo," Lorelai said, putting on a happy face as she waltzed into the living room.

"Daddy?" GG asked hopefully as she quickly stood up from the blocks she had been playing with.

"Not yet," Lorelai said as she swept the little girl up into her arms, the little girl she had once wished was hers, before she carried her upstairs.

* * *


	11. Chapter 11

I know, I know. I haven't given up on this story, I've just been distracted. Better late than never though, right?

* * *

"Where's your friend?" Luke asked the next morning. He was working hard to keep his voice low and level so the gossip hounds in the diner didn't pick up on anything.

"With Sookie and Davy," she said as she accepted the coffee cup from him. "We need to talk about this," she told him without looking up from the inky black liquid in her cup. She frowned a little as Luke asked her what, exactly, could they possibly still have to talk about in regards to GG. With a sigh, Lorelai swallowed her pride and bit back the barb she had been prepared to sling at Luke. She looked up at him and his demeanour immediately began to soften when he saw the look on her face. He called out to Caesar that he'd be back in a bit before he put the coffee pot back on it's burner and gestured towards the curtain. Lorelai slipped silently off of her stool and led the way up to his small apartment.

"So?" he asked as they entered the apartment.

"My mother stopped by the inn yesterday," she said, by passing any more talk about the less than pleasant conversation they'd had the last time they had talked. "She tracked down Straub and Francine for me. They're gallivanting around the finer hotels in Europe right now."

"Have you called them?" he asked as he rummaged through the fridge. He didn't want to look at her right now because he didn't know if he was wearing a relieved expression on his face or not. She hesitated and fumbled for an answer and he knew what that meant. "When are you going to call them?" he asked after a moment.

"Soon," she said immediately. He frowned. He knew what soon meant in Lorelai's world. He asked her when soon was and she replied that it was as soon as she no longer felt nauseous while dialling the phone.

"Just leave a message at the front desk. Make them call you."

"But I don't want to deal with them in the middle of the night," she whined. Luke gave her a look and she quickly explained that if she left the calling up to them, they'd do it when it was convenient for them, not for her and she really felt no need to have this conversation at 3 am.

"Well, I guess you know what that means then."  
"I can send them a singing telegram?" she asked hopefully. He sat down at the table and sent her a look before she let her head fall to the table with a groan. "Hand me the phone," she said, her voice muffled by the wooden table in front of it.

"You are going to have to speak clearly into the phone," he reminded her with a bit of a grin as he got up and headed for the phone. Lorelai merely grunted as she pulled herself up off of the table and fished the now crumpled Post-It out of her pocket. With one last deep breath, Lorelai accepted the phone from Luke and began dialling the hotel in Europe.

* * *

Luke shook her head a little as he wandered into the living room, taking in the disaster it had become in recent days. With a resigned sigh Luke began to move around the room, gathering the GG items and placing them in the corner of the room before moving on to the dirty dishes that had started to build up. He kept one ear on the conversation that was going on in the kitchen while he was cleaning and was starting to understand Lorelai's aversion to calling Christopher's parents.

"I didn't say anything to him . . . No, Sherry left him a note and took off and then he called me," he heard Lorelai explaining the story for the millionth time. "Yes, and then he called me a couple of weeks later, begging for a sitter and never came back." Luke deposited the dishes in the sink as Lorelai shot him a 'kill me now' look. "Why would I make this up? And if I was making it up, why would I phone you about this?" Luke snuck out of the kitchen at this point to tend to the magazines, DVD's and video tapes that were still strewn around the living room.

"I don't want your money! When have I ever wanted your money?" he heard Lorelai almost yell into the phone. "What I want is for either Christopher to show up on my door step or for you and Straub to show up here and collect your granddaughter. . . Because she's not my kid! If I wanted another kid I'd have one myself." she informed them. Luke listened as some more arguing took place followed by the phone slamming onto the kitchen table.

"So," he said as he wandered back into the kitchen. "That sounded like it went well." Lorelai simply let out a grown from where her head was buried in her arms on the table.

"She thinks I'm lying and until she can independently verify my story, they're not going to cut their Europe trip short," Lorelai informed Luke. He frowned as he headed over to the coffee maker.

"They don't care at all?" he asked.

"Oh, she's concerned that I might be lying, that I'm trying to get money out of them. She's also concerned about Christopher's whereabouts. About GG? Apparently not so much." She finally raised her head up and looked at Luke. "I figure we have her, guaranteed, for at least another week, maybe two." Lorelai watched as the muscles in his back tensed and he hesitated with the canister of coffee grounds. "So, um, have I apologised to you in the last 20 minutes?"

"You have," he said as he finally continued on with making her coffee. She nodded her head as she chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. "I'm not mad," he said after a moment.

"You look mad," she said. "Your forehead has those little Angry Lines on it," she informed him while gesturing to where the Angry Lines sat.

"I'm . . . concerned," he said after a while. "This isn't fair to any of us, especially that little girl. I mean, what father thinks this is even remotely a good idea?" All Lorelai could do was shrug and supply the only answer she could think of.

"Christopher," was all she said as she looked Luke in the eye.

* * *


	12. Chapter 12

* * *

As Luke and Lorelai waited for Straub and Francine to get the proof they were looking for, life in the Gilmore house began to fall into a predictable routine. Sookie's sitter had agreed to take on GG as well so every morning, after breakfast, Lorelai dropped GG off before heading to the inn. Luke was still sore about GG and the general situation they found themselves in so Lorelai had taken to avoiding the diner in the mornings. This, of course, set the tongues of the town wagging and rumours about the pair breaking up were starting to filter through town.

A few days after calling Francine and Straub, Lorelai had managed to gain entry to Chris' apartment by flirting with the superintendent and had gathered some things for GG with Rory's help.

"He really did just pack up one night and leave town," Rory remarked as they entered the apartment to see things generally undisturbed.

"Why, what were you expecting?" Lorelai asked as she began to toss things around, cleaning a path from the door as well as sorting through the chaos so she could find clothes, toys and books for GG.

"I don't know," Rory shrugged as she gathered some books and toys as well. "An empty apartment full of boxes, I guess." She handed some things to her mother who dropped them into a bag. "Maybe he is planning on coming back," Rory said hopefully. No matter how old she got or what her father did, Rory always held out the hope that he'd do the right thing in the end. Lorelai couldn't stop the sad smile that appeared on her face.

"He's not coming back Sweets. He might come contact his mom, but he's not coming back," Lorelai said as she stopped what she was doing to look at Rory. The 20 year old hesitated for a moment before Lorelai heard her sigh and go back to gathering supplies from the list Lorelai and Luke had made. The rest of the time in the apartment was spent in silence as each Gilmore girl got lost in their own thoughts. They did speak occasionally, though it was mostly to discuss if they really needed an item or not.

* * *

"Did you decide to keep her without telling me?" Luke asked as he watched Lorelai and Rory bring in the 3rd round of things that they had collected from the apartment.

"No, but kids have a lot of stuff," she said simply as she began mentally cataloguing the stuff, trying to think of where they were going to stash everything.

"I don't think she needs all these clothes," he said as he counted at least 3 bags full of clothes. Lorelai rolled her eyes before she began to explain why she had brought so much and all Luke could do was listen and shake his head.

"That's it," Rory said as she dumped the last load on the floor and closed the door.

"Ok," Lorelai said, jumping to the next phase of the plan. "GG is at the sitters for another hour and a half. You're going back to the diner?" she asked Luke who nodded. "Well then, it's up to you and me kid, are you ready?"

"Coffee first?" Rory asked hopefully.

"Well, yeah," Lorelai said, surprised that Rory would even ask such a thing. The pair quickly stepped around the bag and headed to the kitchen for coffee, leaving Luke standing in the middle of the chaos. He quickly called out to them that he was leaving now, before the materialism of children really made him rant. The called a cheery goodbye to him before turning their attention back to what they were working on in the kitchen.

* * *

Luke drove calmly to the diner, trying to push the happenings at the Gilmore house out of his mind. It didn't matter how many assurances Lorelai gave him that GG would not become a permanent member of the family, he simply couldn't find the optimism she had about the situation. He also knew that he was still mad at Lorelai about things.

He hated that Christopher still had a hold over her, that she'd drop everything to go to his side no matter how long it had been since they last talked when he couldn't even get her to eat one serving of non-deep fried vegetables every day.

He also hated that GG was so visibly Christopher's. It was easy to forget with Rory, the young woman being tall, slender and dark like her mother. As far as he could tell, there was no Christopher in her at all.

Luke snapped out of his musings when he entered town. He turned towards the diner and had to slow even further when he passed Doose's and saw a flash of blue and pink. He continued on his way to the diner, parking his truck and quickly jumping out before heading to the market.

"Luke!" Taylor exclaimed suddenly, trying to hide the ribbons he was working with.

"What the hell is this Taylor?" Luke demanded as he stalked over the register Taylor was standing behind.

"What is what, Luke?" he asked calmly, still fighting with a few pieces of ribbon sticking to his cardigan.

"This, Taylor!" he roared as he grabbed a piece of blue from his sleeve. Luke listened as the older man began babbling excuses about wanting to be prepared, just in case things in the Luke/Lorelai relationship took a turn for the worse. "We're fine, Taylor! Nothing's wrong with us! If anything is wrong, it's the people in this damned town!" Luke quickly reached down under the counter and stole the bucket of ribbons from Taylor. Taylor and his patrons couldn't do anything but watch Luke as he stalked out of the market with the ribbons. As soon as he was gone, however, everyone turned their attention to Taylor and only had to wait a few seconds before he started rambling about how rude Luke was.

* * *

Luke didn't think much about the ribbons after leaving the market and tossing the bucket into the dumpsters behind the diner. In fact, he didn't offer them another thought until Kirk showed up for lunch wearing one. He took a moment to enjoy the pleasure of yelling at Kirk before he looked out the diner window and saw others milling around the town sporting their own pink or blue ribbons.

He nearly screamed when he stuck his head out the door of his diner and caught site of Taylor handing out more ribbons. He quickly slammed the door and stomped up the stairs to his apartment. He nearly ripped the phone off the wall when he grabbed it and began punching in a familiar number.

"You have to get down here," he said as soon as he heard Lorelai on the other end. "You have to get down here and convince them that we're fine or I'm really gonna kill Taylor this time. And then Kirk. And then everyone else."

"Luke?" Lorelai asked, finally catching on to what was happening. Luke started ranting again. "Luke, honey, you gotta throw me a map here because I am so lost it's not even funny," she told him. She desperately wanted to prevent the talked about murders, if only to keep Luke out of jail. Luke took a deep breath and began explaining again. "Oh my God," she said, burying her head in her hands as she realised what he was talking about. "Yes, yes I'll be right there. Don't touch anyone, at least not until I can watch."

* * *


End file.
